25 flood insurance claims·$29,726 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 Prowers 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 risk profile in Prowers County, accounting for 28 out of 31 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 3 standard flood events.
Severe weather patterns across the region routinely drive intense rainfall and flash flooding, as demonstrated by storms in June 2022 and a prolonged severe weather event in July 2023. These episodes illustrate how moisture from the foothills and northwest flow patterns can produce rapid, heavy rainfall across the plains.
NFIP claims data shows historical payouts across multiple zones, led by 13 claims in Zone UNKNOWN with an average payout of $858 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone A follows with 8 claims, averaging a $3,163 payout and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $5,401 and an average 1 inch of recorded water depth, while Zone X and Zone X_SHADED each logged 1 claim with $0 average payouts and 0 inches of recorded water depth.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone UNKNOWN and Zone A should pay the most attention, given the concentration of historical claims and recorded water depths in these areas.
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.
The worst year was 1979, with 10 claims and $6,747 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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Prowers County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →
9 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 8, 2023 |
| Snow | Dec 28, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Apr 11, 2001 |
| Severe Storms, Heavy Rain, Flash Floods, Flooding, Mudslides | Jul 28, 1997 |
| Drought | Jan 29, 1977 |
| Tornadoes, Severe Storms & Flooding | Jun 19, 1965 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 28 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 7, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 6, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 23, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 17, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 6, 2023. Residual moisture from an incredibly anomalously wet June continues to moisten the lower levels aiding in ample amounts of instability. The northwest flow pattern created a lot of shear, which led to prolonged 3 day severe weather event over adjacent and eastern plains of southern Colorado.
Flash Flood · Jun 7, 2022. A more significant and widespread day of severe weather occurred across much of southeastern Colorado during the afternoon and evening of June 7th. Numerous reports of large damaging hail, funnel clouds, and tornadoes occurred across the region.
Flash Flood · Jun 6, 2022. Strong to severe storms developed along the foothills and Palmer Divide in eastern Colorado and moved south-southeast out across the plains. Storms quickly became severe moving off the higher terrain onto the warm and moist plains producing intense rainfall rates, flash flooding, and large damaging hail through the late evening hours.
Flash Flood · Jul 4, 2021. Isolated thunderstorm development was once again noted across the eastern plains on this day, with a few strong to severe storms producing large hail and heavy rainfall with flash flooding.
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 Prowers 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.