Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Denver

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Denver · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Denver than in 71% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Denver gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 78%Tornadoes 9%Earthquakes 5%

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

less than 71%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in North Carolina · lower than 71% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
78% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
2
of 17 declared for Lincoln County
By hazard

What Denver 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

78%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 53% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

9%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Ice storms Hurricanes Hail Strong wind Lightning Wildfire Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Denver’s grade

River and rain flooding is 78% of the building damage FEMA expects in Denver, and Denver’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 53% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 4%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Denver sits
Denver
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Denver’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding78%Tornadoes9%Earthquakes5%Everything else8%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.0M a year in losses across Denver: $873K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Tropical Storm Helene in 2024, FEMA took 365 aid registrations from Denver addresses (the town has 1,170 homes).
Shared tract.All of Denver’s 2,697 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Denver flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Denver. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Denver isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Lincoln County.
Disasters

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Denver

Disasters that paid out in Denver itself (aid to households or repair grants to Denver), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Tropical Storm Helene365 households applied for aid$228K aid approved
  2. 2004Tropical Storm Frances1 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in DenverLincoln County only

Lincoln County has had 17 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Denver after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Denver archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Denver faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Denver

Is Denver at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Denver has lower expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%) and tornadoes (9%). 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 Denver 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 Lincoln County, 15% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Denver?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Denver’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

What was the biggest storm in Denver?

By FEMA money that reached Denver, Tropical Storm Helene (2024): 365 households applied for aid, $228K approved.

Is Denver at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (78%), and Denver’s rate for it is lower than 53% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Denver.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Denver’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.