59 flood insurance claims·$2.7M paid·4 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Carbon County, Montana. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms and general river floods shape the flood risks in Carbon County, Montana. Over the past 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 12 flash flood events and 9 flood events, resulting in 1 death.
Significant historical events illustrate these hazards. In June 2022, a combination of 5 inches of rain and 2 to 5 inches of snow-water equivalent melt caused unprecedented flooding across the Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains and adjacent plains, leading to evacuations and isolated communities. Earlier, slow-moving thunderstorms driven by moist easterly surface flow produced multiple flash floods across south-central Montana in June 2023, while severe storms brought torrential rain and flash flooding in May 2018. Ice-jam and snowmelt flooding also occurred in March 2014 following a rapid warm-up.
FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones. Zone A recorded 31 claims with an average payout of $67,124 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone X recorded 18 claims with an average payout of $56,185 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches, while Zone X unshaded had 5 claims with an average payout of $7,342 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Zone Unknown recorded 4 claims averaging $8,322 with an average water depth of 2 inches, and Zone X shaded recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $825 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Property owners in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
16% of Carbon County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
37 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 4 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2022, with 20 claims and $2.4M paid, the year of Severe Storm and Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
3 NOAA storm reports from Carbon County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Montana flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Flooding | Jun 1, 2023 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Jun 10, 2022 |
| Robertson Draw Fire | Jun 15, 2021 |
| Flooding | May 1, 2018 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 4, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Mt - Willie Fire | Aug 28, 2000 |
| Wildfires | Jul 13, 2000 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
21 since 1996: 12 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jun 10, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 22, 2018 | — |
| Flood | May 28, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Mar 7, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Mar 6, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2013 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 24, 2023. A stationary thunderstorm producing heavy rain resulted in flash flooding near Roscoe and Red Lodge.
Flash Flood · Jun 8, 2023. A very moist, easterly surface flow continued into the start of the second week of June. This resulted in dewpoints well above 50 degrees, as well as atmospheric precipitable waters over 1.00. Winds aloft continued to be light resulting in slow-moving, heavy thunderstorms. As a result, multiple flash flood events occurred across portions of central and south central Montana.
Flood · Jun 10, 2022. The combination of 5 inches of rain combined with snow-water equivalent melt of 2 to 5 inches resulted in a total water event of around 4 to 9 inches. This resulted in unprecedented flooding across the Absaroka/Beartooth Mountains and adjacent plains. This flooding was rarely or never been seen before across many area rivers and streams.||Many locations were evacuated across the Beartooths and Absarokas with multi…
Flash Flood · May 22, 2018. A severe thunderstorm slowly moved across portions of Carbon and Stillwater Counties during the late evening hours on the 22nd. The storm produced 1 diameter hail along with torrential rain which resulted in some flash flooding.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Carbon County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.