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Arizona - Rowood through ShipoloviPhoto: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided · Public domain
DHazard risk
Natural hazards in Sells · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Sells faces more hazard damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sells gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%), then wildfire (12%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 87%Wildfire 12%

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

more than 94%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D
in Arizona · higher than 94% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
87% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 10 declared for Pima County
By hazard

What Sells 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

87%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Wildfire

12%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Hurricanes Winter storms Heat waves Landslides Lightning Avalanches top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingIce stormsCold wavesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts heat waves at 20% of Sells’ 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 Sells’ grade

River and rain flooding is 87% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sells, and Sells’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 12%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Sells sits
Sells
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Sells’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding87%Wildfire12%Everything else1%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Sells: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Sells’ 2,121 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Topawa CDP (233 residents) and San Miguel CDP (205 residents) and South Komelik CDP (176 residents) and Gu Oidak CDP (126 residents) and Ali Chukson CDP (113 residents) and Cowlic CDP (105 residents) and Haivana Nakya CDP (72 residents) and Ali Molina CDP (61 residents) and Chiawuli Tak CDP (48 residents) and Comobabi CDP (44 residents) and Nolic CDP (12 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Sells flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Sells. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Sells 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.
Disasters

The storms Sells remembers

None of the 10 disasters declared for Pima County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Sells itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in SellsPima County only

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Sells 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 Sells

Is Sells at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sells has higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%) and wildfire (12%). 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 Sells 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 Sells?

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

Is Sells at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (87%), and Sells’ rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sells.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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