Photo: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK · CC BY 2.0FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Santa Fe than in 88% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Santa Fe gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns, #5 of 73 in New Mexico. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (56%), then wildfire (28%). Flood insurance has paid 10 claims here since 1989.
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 Santa Fe 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
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 Santa Fe’s grade
River and rain flooding is 56% of the building damage FEMA expects in Santa Fe, and Santa Fe’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 84% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 28%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
A #5 of 73 in New Mexico; lower expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Santa Fe’s residents live in 36 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, Santa Fe has less expected damage per building than 94% of New Mexico towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $18.2M a year in losses across Santa Fe: $14.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Santa Fe flood? Sometimes: 10 flood claims since 1989
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Santa Fe, from FEMA’s records: 0.2 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 97% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Santa Fe isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Santa Fe County.The storms Santa Fe remembers
None of the 6 disasters declared for Santa Fe County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Santa Fe itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20142 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Santa Fe County
- 20182 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19891 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Santa Fe County has had 6 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Santa Fe County, 2002–2002.
Old photos of Santa Fe after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Santa Fe archive →Santa Fe and its neighbors
Santa Fe has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Fe | Aless damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | 10 |
| Tres Arroyos | B−less damage than 51% | river and rain flooding | — |
| La Cienega | C+more damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Tano Road | Cmore damage than 67% | wildfire | — |
| Tesuque | Dmore damage than 91% | wildfire | — |
| Santa Fe Foothills | — | 779 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Conejo | — | 555 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Hyde Park | — | 189 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Valle Vista | — | 729 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.
Get ready for what Santa Fe 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.
- 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 Santa Fe
Is Santa Fe at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Santa Fe has lower expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #5 of 73 in New Mexico. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (56%) and wildfire (28%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Santa Fe flood?
Flood insurance has paid 10 claims in Santa Fe since 1989, $160K in all, or 0.2 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 97% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Santa Fe?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Santa Fe’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Santa Fe at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (56%), and Santa Fe’s rate for it is lower than 84% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Santa Fe.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Santa Fe’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.