207 flood insurance claims·$1.0M 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 Arapahoe County, Colorado. 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 severe summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Arapahoe County. According to NOAA Storm Events Database records from the last thirty years, the county experienced 36 flash flood events resulting in two deaths, alongside 9 general flood events. Recent activity includes a slow-moving storm system in May 2023 that produced heavy rainfall ranging from 4 to 7 inches across the urban corridor, and localized heavy rain on the east side of Denver causing minor flooding in August 2025.
Federal Emergency Management Agency National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend significantly beyond traditional high-risk areas. Zone X properties recorded the highest number of claims with 141 filings, averaging a payout of $7,820 and an average recorded water depth of 28 inches. Meanwhile, Zone A properties recorded 42 claims with an average payout of $16,472 and an average recorded water depth of 16 inches. Homeowners and prospective buyers in both designated high-risk flood zones and lower-risk Zone X areas should pay close attention to these historical claim patterns and average water depths when evaluating property risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
30% of Arapahoe County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
60 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 22 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 2013, with 36 claims and $257,818 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides.
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.
12 NOAA storm reports from Arapahoe County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 8, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Sep 11, 2013 |
| Snow | Dec 18, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Snow | Mar 17, 2003 |
| Wildfires | Apr 23, 2002 |
| Heavy Rains, Snowmelt And Flooding | May 23, 1973 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | May 19, 1969 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
45 since 1996: 36 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Aug 28, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2023 | $50,000 · 1 killed |
| Flood | May 12, 2023 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Jul 8, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 15, 2022 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 24, 2018 | $500,000 · 1 killed |
| Flood | Jun 11, 2015 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2015 | $15,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Aug 28, 2025. Thunderstorms produced localized heavy rain on the east side of Denver with minor flooding. A supercell thunderstorm produced an 87 mph wind gust in Akron.
Flash Flood · Jun 21, 2023. Long duration severe weather event across the northeast plains, and most of the Denver metropolitan area beginning during the early afternoon hours. Scores of tornadoes occurred across Washington and Logan counties. Several rounds of hail across the Denver metro, with ping pong ball sized hail in downtown, larger hail up to 2 inches in diameter at concert in Red Rocks Amphitheatre. In all, seven patrons were…
Flood · May 12, 2023. A slow moving storm system produced flooding and flash flooding across the urban corridor and northeast plains, with heavy snowfall in the higher mountains of the Front Range. Storm total rainfall during the 3-day event ranged from 4 to 7 inches across the urban corridor and Palmer Divide, with 2 to 5 inches across the plains. Additionally, from 1 to 2 feet of heavy wet snow occurred above 10 thousand feet. The…
Flood · Jul 8, 2023. Severe thunderstorms produced large hail and intense winds over parts of the urban corridor and northeast plains and included: Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Elbert, Jefferson, Lincoln, Phillips and Weld counties. The hail ranged in size from 1 to 2 inches in diameter, with peak wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph. In addition, heavy rain flooded an underpass along Highway 36, with 3 feet of standing water which closed the ro…
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 Arapahoe 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.