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Fort Bayard Historic DistrictFort Bayard Historic District · Photo: From the National Archives RG92-F-7-9 · Public domain
DHazard risk
Natural hazards in Santa Clara · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Santa Clara faces more hazard damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Santa Clara 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 (86%), then wildfire (13%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 86%Wildfire 13%

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 92%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D
in New Mexico · higher than 92% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
86% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
1
of 7 declared for Grant County
By hazard

What Santa Clara 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

86%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

13%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Hail Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Winter storms Ice storms Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Santa Clara’s grade

River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Santa Clara, and Santa Clara’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 13%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Santa Clara sits
Santa Clara
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding86%Wildfire13%Everything else1%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Santa Clara: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Santa Clara’s 1,637 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 Santa Clara flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Santa Clara. 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

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

Insurance rates: Grant County.
Disasters

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Santa Clara

Disasters that paid out in Santa Clara itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Santa Clara), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$23K to the Village of Santa Clara for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Santa ClaraGrant County only

Grant County has had 7 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.

Also 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Grant County, 2011–2025.

Were you here?

Old photos of Santa Clara after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Santa Clara archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Santa Clara 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 ↗
Wildfire
  • 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.
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 Santa Clara

Is Santa Clara at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Santa Clara 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 (86%) and wildfire (13%). 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 Santa Clara 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 Grant 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 Santa Clara?

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

What was the biggest storm in Santa Clara?

By FEMA money that reached Santa Clara, Severe Storms and Flooding (2006): $23K to the Village of Santa Clara for repairs.

Is Santa Clara at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Santa Clara’s rate for it is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Santa Clara.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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