208 flood insurance claims·$4.9M 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 Doña Ana 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood character of Doña Ana County, accounting for 89 out of 96 recorded flood events in the last 30 years.
Monsoonal moisture and slow-moving storms frequently trigger heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding across the Rio Grande Valley. For example, a slow-moving storm on July 22, 2025, brought 1 to 3 inches of rainfall and significantly impacted the Vado area. Earlier that summer, on June 24, 2025, an upper trough and a deep plume of monsoonal moisture triggered numerous storms with heavy rain across the county's Rio Grande Valley.
Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the most attention to properties located in FEMA flood zones A and X_UNSHADED. Zone A properties account for the highest claim volume with 151 claims averaging an indemnity payout of $26,817 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X_UNSHADED face severe localized risk, with 18 claims averaging a payout of $145,168 and an average recorded water depth of 51 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Doña Ana County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
169 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 14 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 2006, with 66 claims and $3.9M 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.
25 NOAA storm reports from Doña Ana County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New Mexico flood stories →
10 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides | Jun 23, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Sep 9, 2013 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 26, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Fire Threats | May 5, 2000 |
| Severe Forest Fire | May 5, 2000 |
| Severe Ice Storms, Flooding And Heavy Rains | Jul 16, 1999 |
| Heavy Rains & Flooding | Sep 20, 1972 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
96 since 1996: 89 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 25, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 22, 2025 | $250,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 31, 2025. An weak upper trough was moving through the region while deep monsoonal moisture remained over New Mexico. Numerous storms over the area brought heavy rain and flash flooding to parts of Dona Ana county and around the Salt Burn scar.
Flash Flood · Jun 30, 2025. Southeast low level flow brought in some Gulf moisture to the region. Aloft, there was an upper level trough located near the International Border. Slow moving storms developed near the Rio Grande Valley and brought heavy rain and flash flooding to the Rincon area. Meanwhile, outflows into drier air toward Deming and the Arizona border brought gusty winds and a couple of dust storms to the Lordsburg Playa.
Flash Flood · Sep 25, 2025. An upper trough was moving through the Great Basin region with some weak convergence setup over the Rio Grande Valley which contributed to severe thunderstorm development and flash flooding. Storms also developed over the Gila region which brought heavy rain to the Trout burn scar resulting in some flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 24, 2025. A deep plume of early season monsoonal moisture moved up areas east of the Rio Grande Valley. At the same time, an upper trough was entering the Great Basin helping to trigger numerous storms with heavy rain across the Rio Grande Valley of Dona Ana and Otero 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 Doña Ana 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.