Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Battlement Mesa faces less hazard damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Battlement Mesa gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns, #42 of 159 in Colorado. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (60%), then wildfire (27%). 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 stands out about Battlement Mesa’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Battlement Mesa 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
Landslides
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 Battlement Mesa’s grade
River and rain flooding is 60% of the building damage FEMA expects in Battlement Mesa, and Battlement Mesa’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 27%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ #42 of 159 in Colorado; lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Battlement Mesa’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Colorado town has higher expected damage than 56% of U.S. towns; within the state, Battlement Mesa has less expected damage per building than 74% of Colorado towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.8M a year in losses across Battlement Mesa: $1.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Battlement Mesa flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Battlement Mesa. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Battlement Mesa isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Garfield County.The storms Battlement Mesa remembers
None of the 3 disasters declared for Garfield County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Battlement Mesa itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Garfield County has had 3 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 6 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Garfield County, 2002–2020.
Battlement Mesa and its neighbors
Battlement Mesa is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parachute | B+less damage than 65% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Battlement Mesa | B+less damage than 65% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
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 Battlement Mesa 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.
- Watch for new cracks, tilting trees or suddenly muddy streams after heavy rain.
- Stay off steep slopes in a downpour.
- Leave if you hear rumbling upslope.
- 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 Battlement Mesa
Is Battlement Mesa at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Battlement Mesa has lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #42 of 159 in Colorado. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (60%) and wildfire (27%). 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 Battlement Mesa 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 Garfield County, 0.4% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Battlement Mesa?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Battlement Mesa’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Battlement Mesa at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (60%), and Battlement Mesa’s rate for it is lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Battlement Mesa.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Battlement Mesa’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.