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Buckeye-Downtown Monroe AvePhoto: Marine 69-71 · CC BY-SA 4.0
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Buckeye · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Buckeye faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Buckeye gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns, #23 of 140 in Arizona. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). Flood insurance has paid 35 claims here since 1978.

River and rain flooding 88%Wildfire 8%Hail 2%

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

less than 55%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#23 of 140 in Arizona
Hazard risk
B−#23 of 140
in Arizona · lower than 55% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
88% of expected building damage
Flood claims
35
paid since 1978 · $367K
Flooded more than once
6
properties
Flood claims per home
1 per 1,000
fewer than 78% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Buckeye 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

88%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Wildfire

8%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Hail Earthquakes Strong wind Tornadoes Hurricanes Winter storms Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts heat waves at 53% of Buckeye’s expected losses. Heat waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Buckeye’s grade

River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Buckeye, and Buckeye’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 8%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Buckeye sits
Buckeye
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− #23 of 140 in Arizona; lower expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Buckeye’s residents live in 19 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding88%Wildfire8%Everything else4%

The typical Arizona town has higher expected damage than 78% of U.S. towns; within the state, Buckeye has less expected damage per building than 84% of Arizona towns.

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Buckeye has lower expected damage per building than 66% (#137 of 400). Because it is so big, its total expected yearly loss, $37.0M, is the 314th largest of those 400.

A firm figure. It combines 19 census tracts by where Buckeye’s residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Buckeye flood? Sometimes: 35 flood claims since 1978

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Buckeye, from FEMA’s records: 1.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 78% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1978: 20 claims1979: 1 claim1980: 8 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 3 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 1 claim1994: 1 claim1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 1 claim1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims197819801990
19782026
35
paid claims since 1978
$367K
paid to owners
6
homes flooded more than once
$10K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Buckeye isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Maricopa County.
Disasters

The storms Buckeye remembers

None of the 12 disasters declared for its 2 counties shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Buckeye itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 197820 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for its 2 counties
  2. 19808 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for its 2 counties
  3. 19903 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for its 2 counties
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Buckeyeits 2 counties only

Its 2 counties have had 12 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 11 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in its 2 counties, 2005–2024.

Were you here?

Old photos of Buckeye after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Buckeye archive →
Next door

Buckeye and its neighbors

Buckeye has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Surprise: hazard risk C+Goodyear: hazard risk B−SurpriseGoodyearBuckeye
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
BuckeyeB−less damage than 55%river and rain flooding35
GoodyearB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding6
SurpriseC+more damage than 65%river and rain flooding1

Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Be ready

Get ready for what Buckeye faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Wildfire
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Buckeye

Is Buckeye at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Buckeye has lower expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #23 of 140 in Arizona. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%) and wildfire (8%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Buckeye flood?

Flood insurance has paid 35 claims in Buckeye since 1978, $367K in all, or 1.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 78% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 6 properties have flooded more than once.

Is Buckeye 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 Maricopa County, 29% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Buckeye?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Buckeye’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Buckeye at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Buckeye’s rate for it is higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Buckeye.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Buckeye’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.