Photo: Chad Johnson · CC BY 2.0On FEMA’s figures, Bisbee faces more hazard damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bisbee gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns, #86 of 140 in Arizona. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%), then wildfire (36%). Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1986.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Bisbee faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Wildfire
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Bisbee’s grade
River and rain flooding is 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bisbee, and Bisbee’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 36%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
C− #86 of 140 in Arizona; higher expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Bisbee’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Arizona town has higher expected damage than 78% of U.S. towns; within the state, Bisbee has more expected damage per building than 61% of Arizona towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.6M a year in losses across Bisbee: $2.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Bisbee flood? Sometimes: 12 flood claims since 1986
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bisbee, from FEMA’s records: 3.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 53% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Bisbee isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cochise County.The storms Bisbee remembers
None of the 6 disasters declared for Cochise County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Bisbee itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19994 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Flooding, High Winds, declared for Cochise County
- 19862 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20142 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Cochise County has had 6 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 5 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Cochise County, 2003–2017.
Old photos of Bisbee after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bisbee archive →Get ready for what Bisbee faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Bisbee
Is Bisbee at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bisbee has higher expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #86 of 140 in Arizona. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%) and wildfire (36%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Bisbee flood?
Flood insurance has paid 12 claims in Bisbee since 1986, $148K in all, or 3.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 53% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Bisbee in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Cochise County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bisbee?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bisbee’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Bisbee at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and Bisbee’s rate for it is higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bisbee.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bisbee’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.