9 flood insurance claims·$65,078 paid·1 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 Roosevelt 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.
Riverine flooding and flash flooding share nearly equal dominance in Roosevelt County, backed by 27 flood events and 25 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Seasonal events are frequently driven by snowmelt and severe weather. For example, rapidly melting snow from an above-normal snowpack caused flooding along numerous streams and river forecast points in the Milk River Watershed in April 2023. Additionally, a quick-moving low pressure disturbance interacted with a warm front and an unstable atmosphere to produce flash flooding in June 2021. In March 2020, upstream snowmelt fed into the Poplar River in western Roosevelt County, causing it to exceed flood stage.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims spanning multiple zones, with the highest concentration and severity occurring in Zone A. Specifically, Zone A recorded 7 claims with an average payout of $18,415 and an average recorded water depth of 21 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $9,043 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $789 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties in Zone A or near rivers and streams should pay the closest attention to flood risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 15 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 2011, with 5 claims and $54,571 paid, the year of Severe Storms 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.
10 NOAA storm reports from Roosevelt County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Montana flood stories →
8 federal disaster declarations since 1997, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Flooding | Apr 10, 2023 |
| Straight-line Winds | Jun 10, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 4, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Oct 31, 2000 |
| Severe Storms,ice Jams, Snow Melt, Flooding | Mar 1, 1997 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
52 since 1996: 25 flash floods and 27 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 11, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Mar 10, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Mar 29, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 22, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 18, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Mar 16, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 11, 2023. Rapidly melting snow from an above normal snowpack caused flooding along numerous streams and at many river forecast points in the Milk River Watershed.
Flash Flood · Jun 8, 2021. A quick-moving low pressure disturbance from the southwest interacted with a warm front and a very unstable atmosphere to develop and sustain multiple long-track severe thunderstorms and some flash flooding.
Flood · Mar 10, 2020. Recent snowmelt from northern Phillips County and central and northern Valley County contributed to many area creeks and streams running freely and feeding into the main-stem Milk River and Poplar River. Consequently, the lower Milk River through eastern Valley County and the Poplar River in western Roosevelt County both rose up to, and exceeded flood stage in the second week of March.
Flood · Mar 29, 2019. The recent spring season thaw allowed ice along the Missouri River to break up. An ice jam which formed between Wolf Point and Poplar briefly rose the river level above flood stage near Wolf Point.
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 Roosevelt 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.