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A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Church Rock · FEMA

FEMA puts Church Rock’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 84% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Church Rock gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 93%Earthquakes 6%

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 84%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A−
in New Mexico · lower than 84% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
93% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 8 declared for McKinley County
By hazard

What Church Rock 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

93%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 53% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

6%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 57% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Landslides top 3% Hail Strong wind Tornadoes Winter storms Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Lightning Volcanic activity
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamis
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 32% of Church Rock’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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 Church Rock’s grade

River and rain flooding is 93% of the building damage FEMA expects in Church Rock, and Church Rock’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 53% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 6% (higher than 57% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Church Rock sits
Church Rock
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding93%Earthquakes6%Everything else1%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $208K a year in losses across Church Rock: $76K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Church Rock’s 1,542 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 Church Rock flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Church Rock. 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

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

Insurance rates: McKinley County.
Disasters

The storms Church Rock remembers

None of the 8 disasters declared for McKinley County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Church Rock itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Church RockMcKinley County only

McKinley County has had 8 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Next door

Church Rock and its neighbors

Church Rock is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Gallup: hazard risk A−Iyanbito: hazard risk ASundance: not gradedGallupIyanbitoSundanceChurch Rock
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
IyanbitoAless damage than 93%river and rain flooding—
Church RockA−less damage than 84%river and rain flooding0
GallupA−less damage than 80%river and rain flooding6
Sundance—585 residents; we grade 1,000+

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Church Rock 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 ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
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 Church Rock

Is Church Rock at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Church Rock has lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%) and earthquakes (6%). 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 Church Rock 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 McKinley County, 4% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Church Rock?

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

Is Church Rock at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (93%), and Church Rock’s rate for it is lower than 53% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Church Rock.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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