35 flood insurance claims·$269,526 paid·2 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 Eagle 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 and weather-driven river overflow dominate the flood character of Eagle County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 22 flash flood events and 13 general flood events, which resulted in four deaths.
Recent historical events illustrate these hazards. In August 2023, residual moisture and thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused localized flooding. Earlier in June 2023, above-normal temperatures and precipitation melted a near-record snowpack, creating high and fast flows on local drainages. Another event in February 2022 involved an ice jam on the Roaring Fork River that caused minor flooding.
NFIP claims data demonstrates that property damage occurs across multiple zones. Zone X recorded 13 claims with an average payout of $21,820 and an average recorded water depth of 49 inches. Unshaded Zone X properties recorded 10 claims with an average payout of $35,997 and an average depth of 2 inches. Zone A properties experienced 11 claims with an average payout of $4,937 and an average depth of 2 inches, while a single unknown zone claim averaged $1,000 and 1 inch of water. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists focusing on properties near rivers, mountain drainages, and within Zone X and unshaded Zone X should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
48% of Eagle County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
21 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 1984, with 9 claims and $105,346 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Mudslides, Landslides & 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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Eagle County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →
9 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Grizzly Creek Fire | Aug 13, 2020 |
| Lake Christine Fire | Jul 4, 2018 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Co - Panorama Fire - 07/31/02 | Jul 31, 2002 |
| Wildfires | Apr 23, 2002 |
| Severe Storms, Mudslides, Landslides & Flooding | Jul 27, 1984 |
| Drought | Jan 29, 1977 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
35 since 1996: 22 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Aug 27, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jun 23, 2023 | — · 1 killed |
| Flood | Jun 3, 2023 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Feb 6, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 3, 2021 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Jun 5, 2020 | — · 1 killed |
| Flood | Jun 6, 2019 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jan 3, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Aug 27, 2023. Ample residual moisture lingered across west-central Colorado. This led to another round of diurnally-driven showers and thunderstorms, favoring the mountains along the Divide. Some storms produced heavy rain. One such storm produced localized flooding in a portion of Eagle County.
Flood · Jun 23, 2023. Accelerated snowmelt from a near-record snowpack due to above normal temperatures produced high and fast flow on drainages in several west-central counties.
Flood · Jun 3, 2023. Accelerated snowmelt from a near-record snowpack due to above normal temperatures and precipitation produced high and fast flow on drainages in several west-central counties.
Flash Flood · Feb 6, 2022. A period of cold temperatures caused an ice jam to form on the Roaring Fork River in portions of Eagle County. Minor flooding occurred along the river with elevated river flows peaking during the late afternoon and early evening hours.
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 Eagle 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.