250 flood insurance claims·$1.5M paid·6 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 Valley 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 from storms dominate the history of Valley County, with the NOAA Storm Events Database recording 85 flood events and 38 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include a July 2024 storm that tracked southeastward from Saskatchewan into Montana, generating funnel clouds, tornadoes, and large hail. Additionally, rapidly melting snow from an above-normal snowpack caused widespread flooding along numerous streams and river forecast points in the Milk River Watershed in April 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties across various zones have experienced water damage. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 134 claims with an average payout of $3,466 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone A saw 69 claims averaging $14,482 with an average water depth of 6 inches, while Zone X recorded 40 claims averaging $11,367 with an average water depth of 8 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED logged 7 claims averaging $4,660 with an average water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located near rivers, streams, and the Milk River Watershed, as well as properties situated within designated Zone A and Zone X flood hazard areas where higher payouts and greater average water depths have been documented.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Valley County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
76 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 5 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 92 claims and $973,623 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Valley County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Montana flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1986, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Flooding | Apr 10, 2023 |
| Flooding | Mar 20, 2019 |
| Flooding | Apr 12, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Aug 21, 2014 |
| Flooding | May 19, 2013 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 4, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms,ice Jams, Snow Melt, Flooding | Mar 1, 1997 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
123 since 1996: 38 flash floods and 85 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 11, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 10, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jun 3, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 31, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 12, 2024. A storm rapidly developed in Saskatchewan, turned right and tracked southeastward into Montana. The storm spawned a couple other storms that would track east-southeast across Montana counties that border Canada. Funnel clouds, tornadoes and large hail were generated with these storms.
Flash Flood · May 25, 2023. A pacific disturbance would end up setting off another round of thunderstorms, with some reaching severe levels.
Flood · Apr 12, 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.
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.
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 Valley 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.