Photo: Zhidoni · CC BY-SA 3.0Eldorado at Santa Fe’s building-damage rate from wildfire is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Eldorado at Santa Fe gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns, #26 of 73 in New Mexico. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (59%), then wildfire (36%). 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 Eldorado at Santa Fe 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
Wildfire
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 Eldorado at Santa Fe’s grade
River and rain flooding is 59% of the building damage FEMA expects in Eldorado at Santa Fe, and Eldorado at Santa Fe’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 50% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 36%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ #26 of 73 in New Mexico; higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Eldorado at Santa Fe’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical New Mexico town has higher expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Eldorado at Santa Fe has less expected damage per building than 65% of New Mexico towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.0M a year in losses across Eldorado at Santa Fe: $1.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Eldorado at Santa Fe flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Eldorado at Santa Fe. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Eldorado at Santa Fe isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Santa Fe County.The storms Eldorado at Santa Fe remembers
None of the 6 disasters declared for Santa Fe County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Eldorado at Santa Fe itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Santa Fe County has had 6 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.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Santa Fe County, 2002–2002.
Get ready for what Eldorado at Santa Fe 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.
- 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.
- 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 Eldorado at Santa Fe
Is Eldorado at Santa Fe at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Eldorado at Santa Fe has higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #26 of 73 in New Mexico. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (59%) and wildfire (36%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Eldorado at Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Eldorado at Santa Fe?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Eldorado at Santa Fe’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Eldorado at Santa Fe at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (59%), and Eldorado at Santa Fe’s rate for it is higher than 50% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Eldorado at Santa Fe.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Eldorado at Santa Fe’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.