FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Cannon AFB than in 91% of U.S. towns, led by wildfire
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cannon AFB gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (38%), then river and rain flooding (32%). 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 Cannon AFB faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Wildfire
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 Cannon AFB’s grade
Wildfire is 38% of the building damage FEMA expects in Cannon AFB, and Cannon AFB’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts. Winter storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
A lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Cannon AFB’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $813K a year in losses across Cannon AFB: $691K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Cannon AFB flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Cannon AFB. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Cannon AFB isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Curry County.The storms Cannon AFB remembers
None of the 2 disasters declared for Curry County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Cannon AFB itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Curry County has had 2 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Curry County, 2011–2011.
Get ready for what Cannon AFB faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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 Cannon AFB
Is Cannon AFB at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cannon AFB has lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (38%) and river and rain flooding (32%). 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 Cannon AFB 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 Curry County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Cannon AFB?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cannon AFB’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Cannon AFB at risk from wildfire?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (38%), and Cannon AFB’s rate for it is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cannon AFB.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cannon AFB’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.