Photo: Jedijoe82 · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA puts Heber-Overgaard’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 88% of U.S. towns, mostly from wildfire
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Heber-Overgaard gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns, #102 of 140 in Arizona. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (58%), then river and rain flooding (40%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Heber-Overgaard faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Wildfire
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 Heber-Overgaard’s grade
Wildfire is 58% of the building damage FEMA expects in Heber-Overgaard, and Heber-Overgaard’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 40% (higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts).
D #102 of 140 in Arizona; higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Heber-Overgaard’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, Heber-Overgaard has more expected damage per building than 73% of Arizona towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.5M a year in losses across Heber-Overgaard: $2.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Heber-Overgaard flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Heber-Overgaard. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Heber-Overgaard isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Navajo County.The storms Heber-Overgaard remembers
None of the 12 disasters declared for Navajo County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Heber-Overgaard itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Navajo County has 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 5 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Navajo County, 1999–2006.
Get ready for what Heber-Overgaard faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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 Heber-Overgaard
Is Heber-Overgaard at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Heber-Overgaard has higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #102 of 140 in Arizona. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (58%) and river and rain flooding (40%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Heber-Overgaard 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 Navajo County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Heber-Overgaard?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Heber-Overgaard’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Heber-Overgaard at risk from wildfire?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (58%), and Heber-Overgaard’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Heber-Overgaard.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Heber-Overgaard’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.