173 flood insurance claims·$1.4M paid
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 Bernalillo County, New Mexico. 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 severe summer thunderstorms dominates Bernalillo County, accounting for 97 recorded events and 11 deaths over the last 30 years. Recent impacts are exemplified by events in June 2025 and July 2025, driven by upper-level low pressure systems and monsoon moisture pulling from former tropical storms. These conditions produced heavy rainfall and flash flooding, including a fatality in the north diversion arroyo channel in east-central Albuquerque.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, led by Zone A with 88 claims averaging a payout of $24,594 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Properties in Zone UNKNOWN recorded 44 claims averaging $3,290 with an average water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X properties logged 34 claims averaging $13,970 with an average depth of 3 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 5 claims averaging $11,136 with an average depth of 2 inches, and Zone X_SHADED recorded 2 claims averaging $1,162 with an average depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and unmapped or unknown zones, as well as structures situated near arroyos and channels where rapid flash flooding poses a severe risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7% of Bernalillo County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
95 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 5 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 2013, with 25 claims and $885,390 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
52 NOAA storm reports from Bernalillo County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New Mexico flood stories →
11 federal disaster declarations since 2000.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Dog Head Fire | Jun 14, 2016 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 23, 2013 |
| White Fire | Apr 3, 2011 |
| Malpais Fire | Jun 15, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 2, 2004 |
| Bosque Fire-06-25-2003 | Jun 25, 2003 |
| Severe Fire Threats | May 5, 2000 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
97 since 1996: 97 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 28, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 28, 2025 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 23, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 3, 2025 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2025 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2024 | $2.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 28, 2025. A troughing pattern from the Pacific brought in a late season monsoon burst of moisture to the Desert Southwest. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed over portions of the state with more locally heavy rainfall events occurring from the abundant monsoon moisture. Flash flooding was observed in several locations ranging from near El Malpais south of Grants, NM, in Navajo Nation west of Crownpoint, and in Tijeras…
Flash Flood · Jul 23, 2025. A new multi-day plume of monsoon moisture advected northward into New Mexico between an upper level trough over the southern Baja Peninsula and an upper high over the south-central CONUS. Daily rounds of afternoon thunderstorms producing heavy rain developing over the mountains of New Mexico before moving over surrounding lower elevations through the evening resulted in several events of flash flooding and isolate…
Flash Flood · Jul 12, 2025. The monsoon high that was over the state the earlier in the week, moved west over western Arizona and southern California on July 10th in response to an upper level trough moving across the northern and central Rockies. This resulted in the development of severe thunderstorms across the northeast and east central plains ahead of the trough axis during the afternoon and evening hours. Additionally, a drier thunders…
Flash Flood · Jun 4, 2025. An upper low moved across the desert southwest June 1st into June 2nd helping to pull up higher moisture from former Tropical Storm Alvin in the eastern Pacific. Widespread showers and storms developed across New Mexico during the day June 2nd as the upper low moved into the state. Storms resulted in severe wind gusts in Clovis, penny size hail and flash flooding in Albuquerque and Farmington. Flash flooding in th…
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 Bernalillo 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.