18 flood insurance claims·$132,604 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 San Miguel 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 San Miguel County, accounting for 28 out of 35 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 7 general flood events.
Severe weather patterns drive these occurrences. In August 2023, remnants from Tropical Storm Harold combined with subtropical moisture to produce slow-moving storms, heavy rain, flooding, and debris flows across the region. Earlier in May 2023, above-normal temperatures accelerated a near-record snowpack, causing high, fast flows on regional drainages that compromised low-lying roads and areas.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property owners in high-risk Zone A should pay the most attention, having accumulated 9 claims with an average payout of $18,657 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Additionally, properties in Zone X recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $7,016 and an average water depth of 6 inches, while Zone X shaded recorded 2 claims averaging $18,269 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
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 7 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 2007, with 6 claims and $89,368 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from San Miguel County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →
9 federal disaster declarations since 1970, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Co - Burn Canyon Fire - 07/15/02 | Jul 14, 2002 |
| 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.
35 since 1996: 28 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Aug 24, 2023 | $2,000 |
| Flood | May 15, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2016 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2013 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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.
Flood · May 15, 2023. Accelerated snowmelt from a near-record snowpack due to above normal temperatures produced high and fast flow on drainages in several counties across the Western Slope. As a result, flooding compromised various low-lying roads and areas. This included some lanes along I-70 west of Fruita, Colorado.
Flash Flood · Jul 31, 2021. High pressure retrograted in response to a deepening mid-level trough over the center of the nation and parked over western Colorado. Even so, subtropical moisture remained entrenched over the area with precipitable water values exceeding an inch and trending over 150% of the climatological norm. As a result, widespread showers and thunderstorms erupted over western Colorado. Additionally, convergence along the Co…
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.
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 San Miguel 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.