Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 3.0For wildfire, Ely’s building-damage rate is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ely gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns, #8 of 42 in Nevada. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%), then earthquakes (14%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1982.
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 Ely 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
Earthquakes
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 Ely’s grade
River and rain flooding is 73% of the building damage FEMA expects in Ely, and Ely’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 12%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
B− #8 of 42 in Nevada; lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Ely’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Nevada town has higher expected damage than 81% of U.S. towns; within the state, Ely has less expected damage per building than 83% of Nevada towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.1M a year in losses across Ely: $1.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Ely flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1982
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Ely, from FEMA’s records: 0.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 90% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Ely isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: White Pine County.The storms Ely remembers
None of the 4 disasters declared for White Pine County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Ely itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19821 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
White Pine County has had 4 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Ely after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Ely archive →Get ready for what Ely 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Ely
Is Ely at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ely has lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #8 of 42 in Nevada. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%) and earthquakes (14%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Ely flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Ely since 1982, $390 in all, or 0.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 90% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Ely 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 White Pine County, 12% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Ely?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ely’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Ely at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (73%), and Ely’s rate for it is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ely.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ely’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.