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FEMA flood zones · Colorado

Conejos County, Colorado Flood Zone Map

5 flood insurance claims·$0 paid·3 federal flood & hurricane disasters

Less than 1% of Conejos County’s area is in FEMA’s high-risk flood zones.

Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.

Coastal high risk (V, VE)FloodwayHigh risk (A, AE)Moderate (X, 500-year)Minimal (X)Undetermined (D)

Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Conejos 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.

Flood claims, year by year

The worst year was 2001, with 2 claims and $0 paid.

2001: 2 claims2008: 1 claims2013: 1 claims2020: 1 claims19801990200020102020

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.

In their words

1 NOAA storm reports from Conejos County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →

Federal disasters

7 federal disaster declarations since 1970, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.

DisasterBegan
Hurricane Katrina EvacuationAug 29, 2005
WildfiresApr 23, 2002
DroughtJan 29, 1977
Flooding & LandslidesJul 6, 1973
Heavy Rains & FloodingSep 22, 1970

Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.

Recorded flood events

3 since 1996: 3 river or area floods.

EventDateDamage
FloodApr 30, 1999$14.0M
FloodMay 1, 1999—

— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

From the storm reports

Flood · Apr 30, 1999. Rainfall amounts of 6 to 13 inches from Wednesday night to Friday night caused fast rushing water and major flooding from the Fountain Creek watershed to the Arkansas River east of Pueblo. Heavy rain in the mountains and adjacent plains upstream from Pueblo on the Arkansas River caused flooding in Custer, Fremont and Pueblo counties as well. In Pueblo county, damage was done to roads, irrigation systems and bri…

Flood · May 1, 1999. The most significant river flooding along the Arkansas River since at least 1965 was caused by widespread and persistent rainfall...especially along the eastern slopes of the southeast mountains. The heaviest rainfall occurred from late in the day on the 28th of April and persisted into the afternoon hours of April 30th. Widespread rainfall totals in excess of 8 inches was noted in 40 hours with some locations r…

National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

The zones you’ll see on the map

Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.

Cross-section of a river floodplainDiagram: a river valley. The floodway is the channel and the land beside it; the 1%-annual-chance flood surface (the base flood elevation) covers the valley floor as zone A or AE; a narrow band higher up is shaded X, the 0.2% floodplain; higher ground is X.0.2% CHANCE A YEAR (500-YEAR)BASE FLOOD ELEVATION · 1% A YEARXAEFloodwayAEX
  1. A / AE Inside the 1%-a-year floodplain: about a 26% chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. AE has a mapped base flood elevation; plain A does not.
  2. Floodway The channel and the land beside it that has to be kept clear enough to carry the flood. Building here is tightly limited.
  3. X shaded The 0.2% (500-year) floodplain, plus some levee-protected and very shallow flood areas.
  4. X Outside both lines. No federal requirement to insure, which is not the same as no risk.

Every flood zone code explained →

Flood insurance in Conejos County

If a building in Conejos 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.