6 flood insurance claims·$33,726 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 Ouray 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 driven by summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Ouray County, accounting for the vast majority of recorded flood events over the last 30 years compared to general floods. Monsoon moisture and subtropical weather patterns frequently trigger heavy rainfall, producing localized flash floods, debris flows, and high-water threats across mountainous terrain. Specific occurrences include localized flash flooding and debris flows in July 2022, as well as earlier flash flood events in July 2017 and August 2013 driven by persistent heavy thunderstorms.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that historical claims in the county are limited to areas classified as Zone UNKNOWN, showing an average payout of $5,621 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch per claim.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties situated in unmapped or poorly understood hazard areas—designated as Zone UNKNOWN—where localized cloudbursts and mountainous runoff can create unexpected shallow flooding and debris flows without traditional riverine mapping.
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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Ouray County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →
8 federal disaster declarations since 1970, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Wildfires | Apr 23, 2002 |
| Severe Storms, Mudslides, Landslides & Flooding | Jul 27, 1984 |
| Drought | Jan 29, 1977 |
| Flooding & Landslides | Jul 6, 1973 |
| Heavy Rains & Flooding | Sep 22, 1970 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
22 since 1996: 19 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 16, 2022 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2022 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2017 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 28, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2010 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2008 | $4,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 16, 2022. Residual monsoon moisture resulted in another round of showers and thunderstorms across southwest and west-central Colorado. Some storms produced heavy rain which led to localized flooding and debris flows in portions of Ouray and Pitkin counties.
Flash Flood · Jul 10, 2022. Ample monsoon moisture resulted in scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms across western Colorado. Some storms produced heavy rain which led to localized flash flooding in Ouray County.
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2017. Subtropical moisture over the area produced some thunderstorms with heavy rainfall. Flash flooding occurred at a location in Ouray County.
Flash Flood · Aug 28, 2013. Localized flash flooding was reported yet again in southwest Colorado in the northwest San Juan mountains as thunderstorms with heavy rainfall continued to be a threat.
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 Ouray 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.