9 flood insurance claims·$31,031 paid·2 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 Rio Blanco 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 Rio Blanco County, Colorado, accounting for 33 of the 41 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 8 standard flood events.
These hazards are driven by monsoonal moisture combined with complex terrain and daytime heating, which produce slow-moving thunderstorms with very high rain rates. For example, on August 24, 2025, a plume of monsoonal moisture with precipitable water values exceeding 1.00 inch fueled multiple storms that caused debris flows. Similarly, strong instability and subtropical moisture led to training thunderstorms and localized flooding on July 26, 2019, while a moist air mass brought heavy rainfall and flash flooding on August 12, 2017.
NFIP claims data reflects impacts across different zones. Zone A recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $3,396 and an average water depth of 6 inches. Zone X recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $8,477 and an average water depth of 14 inches. Zone X_SHADED recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $492 and an average water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and Zone X, where claims have involved deeper average water depths and higher average payouts.
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 8 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 1983, with 2 claims and $900 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Rio Blanco County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →
7 federal disaster declarations since 1984, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Elk Fire | Aug 2, 2025 |
| Lee Fire | Aug 2, 2025 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Wildfires | Apr 23, 2002 |
| Severe Storms, Mudslides, Landslides & Flooding | Jul 27, 1984 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
41 since 1996: 33 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2019 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 12, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2012 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2011 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 24, 2025. A plume of anomalously rich monsoonal moisture pushed into eastern Utah and western Colorado in the days prior to these debris flows. On the day of the flows, precipitable water values were in excess of 1.00 inch across the region. Daytime heating acting on the complex terrain of the region allowed for the formation of thunderstorms during the afternoon. These storms were capable of producing heavy rainfall with v…
Flash Flood · Jul 26, 2019. Strong instability and adequate subtropical moisture from the North American Monsoon led to training thunderstorms which developed across western Colorado. Some storms produced heavy rain which led to localized flooding and debris flows across some southwest and west-central counties.
Flash Flood · Aug 12, 2017. A very moist air mass where thunderstorms developed in a slow moving westerly flow resulted in heavy rainfall and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 29, 2014. A very active monsoon thunderstorm outbreak caused several flash floods and debris flows across western Colorado where there were numerous reports of rainfall rates in excess of one inch per hour.
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 Rio Blanco 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.