Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Rifle faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rifle gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns, #70 of 159 in Colorado. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1993.
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 Rifle 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 Rifle’s grade
River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Rifle, and Rifle’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 5%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.
B− #70 of 159 in Colorado; higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Rifle’s residents live in 3 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, Rifle has less expected damage per building than 56% of Colorado towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $4.6M a year in losses across Rifle: $2.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Rifle flood? Rarely: 5 flood claims since 1993
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Rifle, from FEMA’s records: 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 73% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Rifle 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 Rifle remembers
None of the 3 disasters declared for Garfield County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Rifle itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19934 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20021 flood claims paidThe year of Wildfires, declared for Garfield County
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.
Old photos of Rifle after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Rifle archive →Get ready for what Rifle 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 Rifle
Is Rifle at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rifle has higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #70 of 159 in Colorado. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Rifle flood?
Flood insurance has paid 5 claims in Rifle since 1993, $45K in all, or 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 73% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Rifle 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 Rifle?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Rifle’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Rifle at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Rifle’s rate for it is higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rifle.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Rifle’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.