Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Salida than in 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salida gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns, #154 of 159 in Colorado. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1995.
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 Salida 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 Salida’s grade
River and rain flooding is 96% of the building damage FEMA expects in Salida, and Salida’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 1%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
D #154 of 159 in Colorado; higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Salida’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, Salida has more expected damage per building than 97% of Colorado towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $8.4M a year in losses across Salida: $4.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Salida flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1995
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Salida, from FEMA’s records: 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 94% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Salida isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Chaffee County.The storms Salida remembers
None of the 2 disasters declared for Chaffee County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Salida itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19951 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Chaffee County has had 2 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Salida after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Salida archive →Get ready for what Salida 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 Salida
Is Salida at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salida has higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #154 of 159 in Colorado. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Salida flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Salida since 1995, $1K in all, or 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 94% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Salida 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 Chaffee County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Salida?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Salida’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Salida at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (96%), and Salida’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Salida.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Salida’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.