FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in El Jebel than in 91% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, El Jebel gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns, #147 of 159 in Colorado. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (98%). 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 El Jebel 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 El Jebel’s grade
River and rain flooding is 98% of the building damage FEMA expects in El Jebel, and El Jebel’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
D #147 of 159 in Colorado; higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of El Jebel’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, El Jebel has more expected damage per building than 92% of Colorado towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $6.3M a year in losses across El Jebel: $2.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does El Jebel flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in El Jebel. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
El Jebel isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Eagle County.The storms El Jebel remembers
None of the 3 disasters declared for Eagle County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching El Jebel itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Eagle 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 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Eagle County, 2002–2020.
El Jebel and its neighbors
El Jebel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basalt | Dmore damage than 91% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| El Jebel | Dmore damage than 91% | 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 El Jebel 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 El Jebel
Is El Jebel at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, El Jebel has higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #147 of 159 in Colorado. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (98%). 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 El Jebel 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 Eagle County, 29% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in El Jebel?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for El Jebel’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is El Jebel at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (98%), and El Jebel’s rate for it is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in El Jebel.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where El Jebel’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.