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A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Rock Springs · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Rock Springs faces less hazard damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rock Springs gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 91%Earthquakes 8%

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 98%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 98% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
91% 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 Rock Springs 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

91%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

8%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Landslides Hail Strong wind Lightning Tornadoes Winter storms Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 34% of Rock Springs’ 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 Rock Springs’ grade

River and rain flooding is 91% of the building damage FEMA expects in Rock Springs, and Rock Springs’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 8% (higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Rock Springs sits
Rock Springs
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Rock Springs’ residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding91%Earthquakes8%Everything else1%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $101K a year in losses across Rock Springs: $44K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A small-area figure. Rock Springs covers 2 census tracts, combined by where residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Rock Springs flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

Rock Springs 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 Rock Springs remembers

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

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Rock SpringsMcKinley 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

Rock Springs and its neighbors

Rock Springs has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Yah-ta-hey: not gradedYah-ta-heyRock Springs
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Rock SpringsA+less damage than 98%river and rain flooding0
Yah-ta-hey—507 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 Rock Springs 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 Rock Springs

Is Rock Springs at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rock Springs has lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%) and earthquakes (8%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Rock Springs 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 Rock Springs?

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

Is Rock Springs at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (91%), and Rock Springs’ rate for it is lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rock Springs.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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