Seventeen Mile House · Photo: Thomas Stockman · CC BY-SA 4.0Dove Valley’s building-damage rate from hail is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dove Valley gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns, #79 of 159 in Colorado. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (45%), then hail (41%). 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 Dove Valley 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
Hail
Tornadoes
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 Dove Valley’s grade
River and rain flooding is 45% of the building damage FEMA expects in Dove Valley, and Dove Valley’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 70% of U.S. census tracts. Hail adds 41%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ #79 of 159 in Colorado; higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Dove Valley’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, Dove Valley has less expected damage per building than 51% of Colorado towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.6M a year in losses across Dove Valley: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Dove Valley flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Dove Valley. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Dove Valley isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Arapahoe County.The storms Dove Valley remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Arapahoe County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Dove Valley itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Arapahoe County has had 8 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Dove Valley and its neighbors
Dove Valley is 3rd of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inverness | A−less damage than 76% | hail | — |
| Centennial | B−more damage than 51% | hail | 15 |
| Dove Valley | C+more damage than 56% | 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 Dove Valley 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.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Dove Valley
Is Dove Valley at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dove Valley has higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #79 of 159 in Colorado. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (45%) and hail (41%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Dove Valley 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 Arapahoe County, 48% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Dove Valley?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Dove Valley’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Dove Valley at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (45%), and Dove Valley’s rate for it is lower than 70% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dove Valley.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Dove Valley’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.