Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Park Center than in 66% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Park Center gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns, #105 of 159 in Colorado. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%). Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1996.
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 Park Center 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
Hail
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 Park Center’s grade
River and rain flooding is 84% of the building damage FEMA expects in Park Center, and Park Center’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 6%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
C #105 of 159 in Colorado; higher expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Park Center’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, Park Center has more expected damage per building than 66% of Colorado towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $900K a year in losses across Park Center: $633K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Park Center flood? Rarely: 5 flood claims since 1996
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Park Center, from FEMA’s records: 4.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 59% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Park Center isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Fremont County.The storms Park Center remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Fremont County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Park Center itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19961 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19991 flood claims paidThe year of Co-flooding 4/30/99, declared for Fremont County
- 20001 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Fremont County has had 8 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 Fremont County, 2002–2013.
Old photos of Park Center after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Park Center archive →Park Center and its neighbors
Park Center has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park Center | Cmore damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Cañon City | C−more damage than 81% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
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 Park Center 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.
- 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.
- 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 Park Center
Is Park Center at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Park Center has higher expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #105 of 159 in Colorado. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%) and wildfire (6%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Park Center flood?
Flood insurance has paid 5 claims in Park Center since 1996, $14K in all, or 4.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 59% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Park Center 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 Fremont County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Park Center?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Park Center’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Park Center at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (84%), and Park Center’s rate for it is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Park Center.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Park Center’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.