72 flood insurance claims·$343,587 paid·4 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 Fremont 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 Fremont County, supported by 56 recorded flash flood events compared to 14 standard flood events over the last 30 years. Historical impacts include two deaths resulting from standard floods. Recent activity includes minor flooding along the Arkansas River in June 2024 due to snowmelt runoff and high reservoir releases, as well as multi-county flash flooding in June 2023 driven by heavy Pacific moisture and a closed low-pressure system. A separate heavy rain and thunderstorm event occurred in July 2023 due to low-level moisture and surface flow.
Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A, which accounts for the highest number of NFIP claims (33 claims) with an average payout of $16,195 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties in unshaded Zone X (19 claims, average payout of $2,855, average depth of 6 inches) and standard Zone X (14 claims, average payout of $9,697, average depth of 5 inches) also show consistent claim histories. Additionally, properties with unknown zones or shaded Zone X, which averaged a recorded water depth of 12 inches across 3 claims, warrant careful review.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
40% of Fremont County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
55 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 5 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 1996, with 23 claims and $52,177 paid.
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.
12 NOAA storm reports from Fremont County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 4 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 |
| Royal Gorge Fire | Jun 11, 2013 |
| Duckett Fire | Jun 15, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Snow | Mar 17, 2003 |
| Iron Mountain Fire | Jun 2, 2002 |
| Wildfires | Apr 23, 2002 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
70 since 1996: 56 flash floods and 14 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 17, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 12, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 31, 2025. Heavy rainfall of 1-1.5 inches led to flash flooding around Ca��on City and Royal Gorge.
Flood · Jan 17, 2024. Minor river flooding occurred along the Arkansas River in Florence, CO due to an ice jam downstream.
Flood · Jun 10, 2024. Snowmelt runoff in the upper Arkansas (above Pueblo) and high flow releases from Pueblo Reservoir resulted in minor flooding at numerous forecast points along the Arkansas River.
Flash Flood · Jul 29, 2023. Surface flow from the east advected amply amounts of low level moisture which created another event where heavy rains, hail, and gusty winds were observed. Weak perturbations in the upper flow sparked thunderstorms across the region.
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 Fremont 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.