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FEMA flood zones · New Mexico

Harding County, New Mexico Flood Zone Map

2 federal flood & hurricane disasters

Less than 1% of Harding County’s area is in FEMA’s high-risk flood zones.

Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.

Coastal high risk (V, VE)FloodwayHigh risk (A, AE)Moderate (X, 500-year)Minimal (X)Undetermined (D)

Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Harding 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.

In their words

4 NOAA storm reports from Harding County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New Mexico flood stories →

Federal disasters

8 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.

DisasterBegan
Severe Storms, Flooding, And MudslidesSep 9, 2013
Severe Storms And FloodingJul 26, 2006
Hurricane Katrina EvacuationAug 29, 2005
Severe Fire ThreatsMay 5, 2000
DroughtMar 2, 1977
Severe Storms, Snow Melt & FloodingMay 11, 1973

Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.

Recorded flood events

6 since 1996: 5 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.

EventDateDamage
Flash FloodJul 16, 2025—
FloodAug 23, 2017—
Flash FloodAug 22, 2017—
Flash FloodJul 10, 2004—
Flash FloodJul 2, 2000—

— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

From the storm reports

Flash Flood · Jul 16, 2025. Abundant monsoonal moisture resulted in scattered to numerous afternoon thunderstorms developing over the high terrain of NM before moving over surrounding lower elevations during the late afternoon and evening hours of July 16th and 17th. While a few thunderstorms became severe and produced large hail in a few spots of northeastern NM on the 16th, flash flooding over the Ruidoso area burn scars was the main sourc…

Flood · Aug 23, 2017. A subtropical wave lifted north from Mexico and stalled out over the northwest corner of New Mexico on the 22nd. This allowed an extended fetch of abundant atmospheric moisture to surge north across central and eastern New Mexico. An area of rain and thunderstorms developed during the predawn hours over the Ute Creek drainage around Harding County. Several ranchers reported between four and five inches of rainfall…

Flash Flood · Aug 22, 2017. A subtropical wave lifted north from Mexico and stalled out over the northwest corner of New Mexico on the 22nd. This allowed an extended fetch of abundant atmospheric moisture to surge north across central and eastern New Mexico. An area of rain and thunderstorms developed during the predawn hours over the Ute Creek drainage around Harding County. Several ranchers reported between four and five inches of rainfall…

National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

The zones you’ll see on the map

Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.

Cross-section of a river floodplainDiagram: a river valley. The floodway is the channel and the land beside it; the 1%-annual-chance flood surface (the base flood elevation) covers the valley floor as zone A or AE; a narrow band higher up is shaded X, the 0.2% floodplain; higher ground is X.0.2% CHANCE A YEAR (500-YEAR)BASE FLOOD ELEVATION · 1% A YEARXAEFloodwayAEX
  1. A / AE Inside the 1%-a-year floodplain: about a 26% chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. AE has a mapped base flood elevation; plain A does not.
  2. Floodway The channel and the land beside it that has to be kept clear enough to carry the flood. Building here is tightly limited.
  3. X shaded The 0.2% (500-year) floodplain, plus some levee-protected and very shallow flood areas.
  4. X Outside both lines. No federal requirement to insure, which is not the same as no risk.

Every flood zone code explained →

Flood insurance in Harding County

If a building in Harding 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.