Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Dolores
Dolores isn’t graded for hazard risk: Dolores has 918 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2019.
What Dolores 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
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.
Does Dolores flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2019
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Dolores, from FEMA’s records.
Dolores 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 Dolores remembers
None of the 4 disasters declared for Montezuma County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Dolores itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20191 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 Dolores after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Dolores archive →Get ready for what Dolores 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.
- 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 Dolores
Does Dolores flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Dolores since 2019, $745 in all.
Is Dolores 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 Dolores?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Dolores’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dolores.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Dolores’ 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.