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C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in La Union · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, La Union faces more hazard damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, La Union gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 95%Earthquakes 2%Hail 1%

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

more than 76%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C−
in New Mexico · higher than 76% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
95% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 7 declared for Dona Ana County
By hazard

What La Union 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

95%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Hail Wildfire Winter storms Strong wind Ice storms Lightning Hurricanes Tornadoes Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts drought at 40% of La Union’s expected losses. Drought does 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 La Union’s grade

River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in La Union, and La Union’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts.

Where La Union sits
La Union
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding95%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $757K a year in losses across La Union: $407K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of La Union’s 997 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 La Union flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in La Union. 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

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

Insurance rates: Dona Ana County.
Disasters

The storms La Union remembers

None of the 7 disasters declared for Dona Ana County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching La Union itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in La UnionDona Ana County only

Dona Ana County has had 7 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what La Union 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 ↗
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 La Union

Is La Union at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, La Union has higher expected damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). 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 La Union 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 Dona Ana County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in La Union?

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

Is La Union at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and La Union’s rate for it is higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in La Union.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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