30 flood insurance claims·$322,424 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 Roosevelt 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 the flood profile of Roosevelt County, accounting for 38 of the 41 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside three general flood events.
Monsoon moisture and return flow systems frequently drive these occurrences. For instance, slow-moving storms and heavy rainfall produced flash flooding near Portales in August 2025, while disturbances moving from southwest to northeast caused flash flooding in northern Roosevelt County west of Portales in November 2024.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within FEMA-designated Zone A. This zone accounts for the vast majority of historical National Flood Insurance Program claims in the county, totaling 26 claims with an average payout of $16,654 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Properties in Zone UNKNOWN and Zone X have experienced significantly fewer claims and lower average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Roosevelt County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
26 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 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 2021, with 8 claims and $234,930 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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Roosevelt County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New Mexico flood stories →
7 federal disaster declarations since 1977.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Tire Fire | Apr 17, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Fire Threats | May 5, 2000 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 22, 1997 |
| Drought | Mar 2, 1977 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
41 since 1996: 38 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 2, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2023 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 15, 2021 | $250,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 29, 2025. Monsoon Moisture across central and eastern New Mexico along with a backdoor front entering northeast NM resulted in the development of scattered shower and thunderstorm activity across these portions of the state. A slow moving thunderstorm resulted in flash flooding on State Highway 76 near Chimayo. Severe thunderstorms resulted in damaging wind gusts of up to 70 mph across Union and Harding County. Finally, mid…
Flash Flood · Aug 11, 2025. Abundant moisture pushed up to the east slopes of the central mountain chain of New Mexico. Combined with daytime heating, this initiated severe thunderstorms along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains southward along the central highlands. These storms progressed eastward over the eastern plains of NM toward the TX border producing severe hail ranging from nickels to half-dollar size. Flash flooding…
Flash Flood · May 31, 2024. Showers and thunderstorms developed along the dryline across northeast and east central New Mexico around midday Thursday May 30th. A few storms became severe near the Texas state line in Union, Harding, and Quay Counties with one storm producing quarter size hail in Logan. Storms moved east into the Texas Panhandle before sunset. Another round of showers and storms developed along the east slopes of the central m…
Flash Flood · Aug 29, 2024. Abundant monsoonal moisture continued to be pulled northward into New Mexico on August 28th and 29th. This resulted in showers and thunderstorms producing locally heavy rainfall developing over the recent burn scars by Ruidoso. The first round on August 28th resulted in flash flooding within the Cherokee Mobile Home Park down from the Salt burn scar, and within and near the South Fork burn scar. The second round o…
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 Roosevelt 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.