243 flood insurance claims·$719,425 paid·5 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 Denver 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Denver County, supported by 24 recorded flash flood events compared to 7 standard flood events over the last 30 years. Thunderstorms moving through the area have produced heavy rain and severe hail that led to significant water accumulation and road closures, as observed during storms in July 2024 and June 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that risk extends beyond high-risk riverine corridors into moderate and minimal risk zones. Zone X leads the county with 125 claims averaging a recorded water depth of 25 inches and an average payout of $4,584. Meanwhile, properties designated as Zone X_UNSHADED recorded fewer claims at 15, but experienced a higher average payout of $23,208 with an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone A properties accounted for 47 claims averaging $7,408 with an average recorded water depth of 6 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN recorded 55 claims averaging $4,729 with a 1-inch average water depth.
Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the most attention to properties in standard moderate-to-low risk zones like Zone X where high average water depths are recorded, as well as properties in Zone A and unmapped areas subject to flash flooding from severe summer storms.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
25% of Denver County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
63 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 15 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 2015, with 47 claims and $113,750 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, 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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Denver County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →
11 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | May 4, 2015 |
| 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 |
| Tornadoes, Severe Storms & Flooding | Jun 19, 1965 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 24 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 25, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2023 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2022 | $250,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 21, 2019 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2019 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2015 | $75,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 25, 2025. Thunderstorms formed across the Denver area during the evening hours of June 25th. Heavy rain and small hail were the main threats from the storms. One inch hail was briefly reported in Firestone. The heavy rain caused some low lying areas to see minor flooding (ponding). There was one report of running water along a road in east Erie that reached 7 inches deep. No damage was reported from the flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2024. Widely scattered thunderstorms developed in the afternoon hours of July 20th across the northeastern plains of Colorado, producing a few severe wind gusts. A more prolific storm developed near the Wyoming border and tracked south across the I-25 corridor through the evening hours, producing a swath of severe hail and wind from Fort Collins into the Denver metro.
Flash Flood · Jun 29, 2023. Severe thunderstorms produced large hail, from penny to tennis ball size across parts of Jefferson, Adams, Arapahoe, Denver and Washington counties. The hail along with heavy rain caused flooding and flash flooding problems. In Adams County, widespread hail accumulated up to 6 inches deep on the roadways between Watkins and Bennett, with localized accumulations up to a foot reported. Highway 36 was closed due to…
Flash Flood · Aug 7, 2022. Torrential rainfall, up to 2.5 inches in 20 minutes, produced flash flooding in and around the Denver area. The heavy rainfall flooded the underpass at 38th and Blake, as well as Interstate 70, from Brighton Blvd to York St. Denver firefighters rescued 19 people from those locations alone. Floodwaters knocked down a retaining wall in Thornton at 8600 Washington St. Flooding and tree damage also occurred at the…
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 Denver 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.