Home›States›Colorado›Crowley County
FEMA flood zones · Colorado

Crowley County, Colorado Flood Zone Map

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

Less than 1% of Crowley 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 Crowley 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.

Federal disasters

12 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.

DisasterBegan
Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And MudslidesSep 11, 2013
Ordway FireApr 15, 2008
SnowDec 28, 2006
Hurricane Katrina EvacuationAug 29, 2005
WildfiresApr 23, 2002
Severe Winter StormsApr 11, 2001
Flooding 4/30/99Apr 29, 1999
Severe Storms, Heavy Rain, Flash Floods, Flooding, MudslidesJul 28, 1997

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

Recorded flood events

5 since 1996: 5 flash floods.

EventDateDamage
Flash FloodJul 25, 2016—
Flash FloodJul 9, 2006—
Flash FloodAug 19, 2004$30,000
Flash FloodAug 4, 1999—
Flash FloodJun 6, 1997—

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

From the storm reports

Flash Flood · Jul 25, 2016. Strong to severe storms produced damaging winds and flooding rains. The largest hail reported was nickel size.

Flash Flood · Jun 6, 1997. Prolonged and widespread thunderstorm activity produced flooding across many of the highways and roads in Crowley and Otero counties. Highway 50 near La Junta in Otero county was closed due to flooding. Several bridges were either washed out or sustained damage on county roads around La Junta. Highway 96 near Ordway in Crowley county was flooded.

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 Crowley County

If a building in Crowley 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.