15 flood insurance claims·$157,857 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 Sierra 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 profile of Sierra County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 61 flash flood events and two standard flood events, resulting in one death. Recent events highlight this pattern, including heavy rain and flash flooding around the Monticello area on September 27, 2025, and storms that brought flash flooding to the Truth or Consequences area on July 21, 2024. Additional heavy rain and flash flooding affected Luna, Sierra, and Otero counties on July 28, 2025.
Federal Emergency Management Agency insurance data shows claims across multiple zones. Zone A recorded nine claims with an average payout of $7,167 and an average recorded water depth of three inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded three claims with an average payout of $2,946 and an average recorded water depth of one inch. Zone X unshaded recorded two claims with an average payout of $15,200 and an average recorded water depth of five inches, while Zone X recorded one claim with a payout of $68,454 and an average recorded water depth of two inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Special Flood Hazard Areas like Zone A, as well as properties in unshaded and standard Zone X areas where claims and significant payouts have occurred.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 3 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 7 claims and $122,541 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides.
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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Sierra County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New Mexico flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 15, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Sep 9, 2013 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 23, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Extreme Cold Temperatures | Feb 1, 2011 |
| 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
63 since 1996: 61 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2020 | $2.4M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 28, 2025. An upper high over the lower Mississippi Valley brought a deep southeast flow of moisture directly over New Mexico which resulted in severe thunderstorm winds, heavy rain and numerous reports of flash flooding around Luna, Sierra and Otero counties.
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 2025. A negatively tilted trough was moving through southern California and northern Baja which tapped plenty of subtropical moisture. Locally heavy rain developed along the east slopes of the Blacks Range and brought flash flooding and wind damage to the Monticello area.
Flash Flood · Jul 18, 2025. A deep southeast flow brought plenty of moisture into the region. Storms formed over area mountains and along a mid-level convergence area along the Rio Grande Valley which brought heavy rain and flash flooding to Grant and Sierra counties.
Flash Flood · Jul 21, 2024. Modest moisture remained across the region with an upper level disturbance moving through northerly flow aloft. This disturbance triggered a severe thunderstorm east of Deming and some flash flooding around the Truth or Consequences area.
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 Sierra 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.