30 flood insurance claims·$20,324 paid·1 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 Summit 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.
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 1995, with 7 claims and $5,647 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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Summit County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →
6 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Snow | Mar 17, 2003 |
| Wildfires | Apr 23, 2002 |
| Drought | Jan 29, 1977 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
1 since 1996: 1 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2011 | $200,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 18, 2011. Thunderstorms produced very heavy rain and continuous lightning over Summit County. The historic rainstorm in the town of Breckenridge produced 3.17 inches of rain at local weather station, most of the rain fell in less than 3 hours. A cooperative observer with the National Weather Service also recorded 3.59 inches of rainfall in east Breckenridge. The highest recorded 24-hr rainfall prior to this event occurre…
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 Summit 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.