154 flood insurance claims·$3.5M paid·7 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 Gila County, Arizona. 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 intense summer thunderstorms and tropical moisture systems dominates the flood character of Gila County. Over a 30-year period recorded by the NOAA Storm Events Database, the county experienced 231 flash flood events resulting in 15 deaths, alongside 23 general flood events resulting in 6 deaths.
Recent weather patterns illustrate these severe risks. In July 2025, a combination of a subtropical high and low pressure brought daytime heating and moisture, triggering heavy thunderstorm activity. Later that year, in October 2025, a stationary upper-level trough combined with tropical moisture remnants from Tropical Storms Priscilla and Raymond, producing record early-October precipitable water values and widespread rainfall.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that properties in high-risk Zone A have filed 103 claims with an average payout of $33,078 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Residents in Zone D should also pay close attention, as 8 claims in this zone averaged a payout of $29,433 and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches. Additionally, properties in Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 8 claims averaging $47,187 with an average water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X_SHADED saw 22 claims averaging $4,897 with an average water depth of 2 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
23% of Gila County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
133 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 6 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 1993, with 35 claims and $951,904 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes & 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.
119 NOAA storm reports from Gila County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arizona flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1970, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Telegraph Fire | Jun 6, 2021 |
| Griffin Fire | Aug 17, 2020 |
| Bush Fire | Jun 20, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Jan 18, 2010 |
| Water Wheel Fire | Aug 30, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 25, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Wildfire (edge Complex) 07-22-2005 | Jul 21, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
254 since 1996: 231 flash floods and 23 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 28, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2025 | $25.0M · 3 killed |
| Flash Flood | Sep 25, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 25, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 25, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 25, 2025 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 28, 2025. An early season low pressure system moved into southeastern California and cut off from the main steering flow. Leftover monsoon moisture from the subtropics combined with the stalled low pressure system and brought a 4 day period of severe weather and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 2025. A slow-moving low pressure system brought several rounds of showers and thunderstorms over multiple days through much of the region. Activity on the 25th was mostly concentrated across higher terrain areas of eastern AZ, fueled by MLCAPE values approaching 2000 J/kg. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours, producing rainfall accumulations of over 2 inches in less than one hour across t…
Flash Flood · Sep 26, 2025. A slow-moving low pressure system brought several rounds of showers and thunderstorms over multiple days through much of the region. Activity on the 25th was mostly concentrated across higher terrain areas of eastern AZ, fueled by MLCAPE values approaching 2000 J/kg. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours, producing rainfall accumulations of over 2 inches in less than one hour across t…
Flash Flood · Sep 25, 2025. A slow-moving low pressure system brought several rounds of showers and thunderstorms over multiple days through much of the region. Activity on the 25th was mostly concentrated across higher terrain areas of eastern AZ, fueled by MLCAPE values approaching 2000 J/kg. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours, producing rainfall accumulations of over 2 inches in less than one hour across t…
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 Gila 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.