FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Drexel Heights than in 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Drexel Heights gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns, #82 of 140 in Arizona. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1990.
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 Drexel Heights 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 Drexel Heights’ grade
River and rain flooding is 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Drexel Heights, and Drexel Heights’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 9%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
C− #82 of 140 in Arizona; higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Drexel Heights’ residents live in 9 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, Drexel Heights has more expected damage per building than 58% of Arizona towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $9.7M a year in losses across Drexel Heights: $5.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Drexel Heights flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 1990
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Drexel Heights, from FEMA’s records: 0.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 92% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Drexel Heights isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Pima County.The storms Drexel Heights remembers
None of the 10 disasters declared for Pima County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Drexel Heights itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19901 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Pima County
- 19951 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20101 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Pima County has had 10 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 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Pima County, 2003–2020.
Old photos of Drexel Heights after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Drexel Heights archive →Drexel Heights and its neighbors
Drexel Heights has the lowest expected damage per building of the 4 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drexel Heights | C−more damage than 82% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Tucson | C−more damage than 84% | river and rain flooding | 120 |
| Tucson Estates | D−more damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Valencia West | D−more damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
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 Drexel Heights 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 Drexel Heights
Is Drexel Heights at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Drexel Heights has higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #82 of 140 in Arizona. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%) and wildfire (9%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Drexel Heights flood?
Flood insurance has paid 4 claims in Drexel Heights since 1990, $32K in all, or 0.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 92% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Drexel Heights 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 Pima County, 21% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Drexel Heights?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Drexel Heights’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Drexel Heights at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Drexel Heights’ rate for it is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Drexel Heights.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Drexel Heights’ 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.