Satank Bridge · Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Carbondale than in 85% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Carbondale gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns, #136 of 159 in Colorado. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1995.
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 Carbondale 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
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 Carbondale’s grade
River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Carbondale, and Carbondale’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 3%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
D #136 of 159 in Colorado; higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Carbondale’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Colorado town has higher expected damage than 56% of U.S. towns; within the state, Carbondale has more expected damage per building than 85% of Colorado towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $6.0M a year in losses across Carbondale: $3.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Carbondale flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1995
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Carbondale, from FEMA’s records: 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 94% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Carbondale 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 Carbondale remembers
None of the 3 disasters declared for Garfield County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Carbondale itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19951 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
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.
Old photos of Carbondale after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Carbondale archive →Get ready for what Carbondale 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.
- 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 Carbondale
Is Carbondale at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Carbondale has higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #136 of 159 in Colorado. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Carbondale flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Carbondale since 1995, $210 in all, or 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 94% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Carbondale 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 Carbondale?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Carbondale’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Carbondale at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Carbondale’s rate for it is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Carbondale.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Carbondale’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.