On FEMA’s figures, Severance 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, Severance gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns, #83 of 159 in Colorado. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%), then tornadoes (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 Severance 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
Tornadoes
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 Severance’s grade
River and rain flooding is 74% of the building damage FEMA expects in Severance, and Severance’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts. Hail adds 10%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ #83 of 159 in Colorado; higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Severance’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, Severance has more expected damage per building than 52% of Colorado towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.3M a year in losses across Severance: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Severance flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Severance. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Severance isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Weld County.The storms Severance remembers
None of the 12 disasters declared for Weld County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Severance itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Weld County has had 12 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.
Severance and its neighbors
Severance 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Severance | C+more damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Windsor | C−more damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
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 Severance 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Severance
Is Severance at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Severance has higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #83 of 159 in Colorado. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%) and tornadoes (12%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Severance 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 Weld County, 12% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Severance?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Severance’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Severance at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (74%), and Severance’s rate for it is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Severance.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Severance’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.