Photo: Finetooth · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Cottonwood than in 71% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cottonwood gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns, #56 of 140 in Arizona. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1979.
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 Cottonwood 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
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 Cottonwood’s grade
River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Cottonwood, and Cottonwood’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 5%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
C #56 of 140 in Arizona; higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Cottonwood’s residents live in 8 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, Cottonwood has less expected damage per building than 60% of Arizona towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $4.6M a year in losses across Cottonwood: $3.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Cottonwood flood? Rarely: 5 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Cottonwood, from FEMA’s records: 0.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 85% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Cottonwood isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Yavapai County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Cottonwood
Disasters that paid out in Cottonwood itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Cottonwood), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$8K to the City of Cottonwood for repairs
Yavapai County has had 10 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 13 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Yavapai County, 2002–2022.
Old photos of Cottonwood after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cottonwood archive →Cottonwood and its neighbors
Cottonwood has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottonwood | Cmore damage than 71% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Clarkdale | Cmore damage than 73% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Verde Village | C−more damage than 83% | river and rain flooding | 35 |
| Cornville | Dmore damage than 94% | river and rain flooding | 52 |
| Camp Verde | D−more damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 23 |
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.
Get ready for what Cottonwood 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.
- 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 Cottonwood
Is Cottonwood at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cottonwood has higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #56 of 140 in Arizona. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Cottonwood flood?
Flood insurance has paid 5 claims in Cottonwood since 1979, $41K in all, or 0.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 85% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Cottonwood 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 Yavapai County, 24% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Cottonwood?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cottonwood’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Cottonwood?
By FEMA money that reached Cottonwood, Severe Storms and Flooding (2004): $8K to the City of Cottonwood for repairs.
Is Cottonwood at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Cottonwood’s rate for it is higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cottonwood.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cottonwood’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.