2 flood insurance claims·$0 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 Elbert 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 profile of Elbert County, supported by 22 recorded flash flood events compared to 4 general flood events over the last 30 years.
Severe weather data illustrates these patterns, such as an August 19, 2024 event where severe thunderstorms produced hail, winds, two landspout tornadoes, and flash flooding. Earlier that summer on June 11, 2023, heavy rain brought significant flash flooding and road closures to parts of the region.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims restricted to Zone X, with 2 total claims averaging 0 dollars in payout and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Property owners located in Zone X should pay attention to these localized flash flood risks, as storm-driven events can occur with little warning during the summer months.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 1 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Elbert County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 8, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | May 4, 2015 |
| Snow | Dec 18, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Snow | Mar 17, 2003 |
| Wildfires | Apr 23, 2002 |
| Flooding 4/30/99 | Apr 29, 1999 |
| Severe Storms, Heavy Rain, Flash Floods, Flooding, Mudslides | Jul 28, 1997 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
26 since 1996: 22 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Aug 13, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 22, 2023 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2023 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 1, 2019 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2015 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Jun 11, 2015 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2015 | $15,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 19, 2024. Severe thunderstorms developed along a convergence boundary that stretched from Limon to Sterling. The storms produce hail up to an inch and a half in diameter, winds to 60 mph, two landspout tornadoes and flash flooding.
Flood · Aug 13, 2024. Thunderstorms tracked across eastern Colorado August 13th producing strong to damaging winds. A wind gust of 83 mph was reported was four miles north-northeast of Elizabeth. The strongest wind gust of the day. The Fire department reported a collapsed outbuilding due to wind damage near intersection of Private Road 160 and County Road 21 near where the 83 mph wind gust was reported.
Flood · Jun 22, 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…
Flash Flood · Jun 11, 2023. Very heavy rain occurred across some areas of northeast Colorado from June 11th until the early hours of June 12th with flash flooding in some areas. The worst areas were south and southeast of Fort Collins towards Timnath and Windsor and in the Milliken area. Locations in these areas received from 3.0 to 5.5 inches of rain. Another area was located in and near Limon where significant flash flooding occurred a…
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 Elbert 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.