Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Cortez than almost anywhere in the U.S., mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cortez gets an A+ for hazard risk: among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns, #1 of 159 in Colorado. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%), then earthquakes (16%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2006.
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 Cortez 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
Earthquakes
Wildfire
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 Cortez’s grade
River and rain flooding is 73% of the building damage FEMA expects in Cortez, and Cortez’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 92% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 8%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
A+ #1 of 159 in Colorado; among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
Cortez’s residents live in 3 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, Cortez has less expected damage per building than 100% of Colorado towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.6M a year in losses across Cortez: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Cortez flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2006
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Cortez, from FEMA’s records: 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 96% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Cortez isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Montezuma County.The storms Cortez remembers
None of the 4 disasters declared for Montezuma County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Cortez itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20061 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Montezuma County has had 4 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Montezuma County, 2012–2012.
Old photos of Cortez after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cortez archive →Get ready for what Cortez 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Cortez
Is Cortez at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cortez has among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #1 of 159 in Colorado. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%) and earthquakes (16%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Cortez flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Cortez since 2006, $2K in all, or 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 96% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Cortez 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 Montezuma County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Cortez?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cortez’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Cortez at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (73%), and Cortez’s rate for it is lower than 92% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cortez.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cortez’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.