Sand Hollow Wash Bridge · Photo: Kimberly Cazier · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect more hazard damage per building than Scenic, mostly from wildfire
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Scenic gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (51%), then river and rain flooding (48%). 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 Scenic 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 Scenic’s grade
Wildfire is 51% of the building damage FEMA expects in Scenic, and Scenic’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. River and rain flooding adds 48%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Scenic’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.3M a year in losses across Scenic: $2.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Scenic flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Scenic. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Scenic isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Mohave County.The storms Scenic remembers
None of the 9 disasters declared for Mohave County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Scenic itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Mohave County has had 9 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 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Mohave County, 2005–2015.
Get ready for what Scenic 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 Scenic
Is Scenic at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Scenic has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (51%) and river and rain flooding (48%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Scenic 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 Mohave County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Scenic?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Scenic’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Scenic at risk from wildfire?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (51%), and Scenic’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Scenic.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Scenic’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.