40 flood insurance claims·$86,884 paid·3 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 Gunnison 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.
Long-term data from the NOAA Storm Events Database shows that general riverine flooding dominates the flood risk profile in Gunnison County, accounting for 13 events and 2 deaths over the last 30 years, alongside 7 flash flood events. Recent events illustrate these varied drivers: in May 2023, warm temperatures and a near-record snowpack accelerated snowmelt, causing excessive runoff that flooded a ranch along the East River and compromised a culvert near Bear Creek. Later that year in August 2023, remnants from Tropical Storm Harold combined with subtropical moisture to produce slow-moving thunderstorms, heavy rain, debris flows, and widespread flooding.
FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records indicate historical claims across multiple zones. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 18 claims with an average payout of $2,782 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone A recorded 12 claims with an average payout of $4,083 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X recorded 10 claims with an average payout of $3,256 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches.
Property owners located near rivers, streams, and drainage paths, as well as those in unmapped or Zone X areas, should pay the closest attention to flood risk given the documented impacts of seasonal snowmelt and heavy summer rainfall.
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 2 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 11 claims and $15,864 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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Gunnison County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →
9 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Snow | Mar 17, 2003 |
| Wiley Ridge Fire-06/23/02 | Jun 23, 2002 |
| Wildfires | Apr 23, 2002 |
| Severe Storms, Mudslides, Landslides & Flooding | Jul 27, 1984 |
| Drought | Jan 29, 1977 |
| Flooding & Landslides | Jul 6, 1973 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
20 since 1996: 7 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 31, 2023 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Apr 30, 2023 | $500,000 |
| Flood | May 24, 2023 | $25,000 |
| Flood | May 24, 2023 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Aug 24, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flood | May 5, 2023 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Jun 21, 2019 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 31, 2023. Continued very warm temperatures on an above normal snowpack resulted in excessive runoff leading to flooding across portions of west-central Colorado, particularly Gunnison County. Conditions were only exacerbated by heavy rain from thunderstorms in the days prior.
Flood · Apr 30, 2023. Accelerated snowmelt from a near-record snowpack due to above normal temperatures produced high and fast flow on drainages in Gunnison County. As a result, flooding compromised and led to the failure of a culvert which led to flooding near Bear Creek.
Flood · May 24, 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. As a result, flooding compromised various low-lying roads in the counties.
Flood · Aug 24, 2023. Remnants from Tropical Storm Harold lifted across the Desert Southwest. This, combined with already abundant subtropical moisture, resulted in widespread showers and thunderstorms across western Colorado. Storms were slow moving and produced heavy rain. As a result of the heavy rain, some flooding and debris flows occurred in portions of Gunnison, Garfield, Mesa, and Montezuma counties.
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 Gunnison 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.