FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Jarales than in 92% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Jarales gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 2000.
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 Jarales 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
Earthquakes
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 Jarales’ grade
River and rain flooding is 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Jarales, and Jarales’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 2%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Jarales’ residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.7M a year in losses across Jarales: $1.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Jarales flood? Rarely: 9 flood claims since 2000
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Jarales, from FEMA’s records: 7.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 69% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Jarales isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Valencia County.The storms Jarales remembers
None of the 5 disasters declared for Valencia County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Jarales itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20173 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20001 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Fire Threats, declared for Valencia County
- 20061 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Valencia County
Valencia County has had 5 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 7 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Valencia County, 2000–2025.
Old photos of Jarales after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Jarales archive →Jarales and its neighbors
Jarales is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
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 Jarales 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Jarales
Is Jarales at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Jarales has higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%) and earthquakes (9%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Jarales flood?
Flood insurance has paid 9 claims in Jarales since 2000, $245K in all, or 7.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 69% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Jarales 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 Valencia County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 6.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Jarales?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Jarales’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Jarales at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Jarales’ rate for it is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Jarales.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Jarales’ 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.