Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, New Castle faces more hazard damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, New Castle gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns, #117 of 159 in Colorado. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%), then wildfire (12%). 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 New Castle 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.
What’s behind New Castle’s grade
River and rain flooding is 84% of the building damage FEMA expects in New Castle, and New Castle’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 12%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
C− #117 of 159 in Colorado; higher expected damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of New Castle’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, New Castle has more expected damage per building than 73% of Colorado towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.3M a year in losses across New Castle: $1.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does New Castle flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in New Castle. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
New Castle 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 New Castle remembers
None of the 3 disasters declared for Garfield County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching New Castle itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
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.
Get ready for what New Castle 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 New Castle
Is New Castle at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, New Castle has higher expected damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #117 of 159 in Colorado. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%) and wildfire (12%). 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 New Castle 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 New Castle?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for New Castle’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is New Castle at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (84%), and New Castle’s rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in New Castle.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where New Castle’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.