Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Portales faces more hazard damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Portales gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns, #70 of 73 in New Mexico. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%), then wildfire (20%). Flood insurance has paid 20 claims here since 1981.
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 stands out about Portales’ natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Portales 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 Portales’ grade
River and rain flooding is 73% of the building damage FEMA expects in Portales, and Portales’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 20%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D− #70 of 73 in New Mexico; higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Portales’ residents live in 5 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, Portales has more expected damage per building than 96% of New Mexico towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $15.4M a year in losses across Portales: $13.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Portales flood? Sometimes: 20 flood claims since 1981
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Portales, from FEMA’s records: 3.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 53% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Portales is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 9) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Roosevelt County.The storms Portales remembers
None of the 3 disasters declared for Roosevelt County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Portales itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20217 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19963 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20173 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Roosevelt County has had 3 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 Roosevelt County, 2011–2011.
Old photos of Portales after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Portales archive →Get ready for what Portales 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.
- Portales residents get 05% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Portales
Is Portales at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Portales has higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #70 of 73 in New Mexico. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%) and wildfire (20%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Portales flood?
Flood insurance has paid 20 claims in Portales since 1981, $317K in all, or 3.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 53% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 3 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Portales 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 Roosevelt County, 6% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Portales?
Portales is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 9), which takes 05% off federal flood insurance policies for its flood-proofing work. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Portales at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (73%), and Portales’ rate for it is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Portales.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Portales’ 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.