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2013-07-04 17 32 49 View of Jackpot in Nevada from a hill to the westPhoto: Famartin · CC BY-SA 3.0
D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Jackpot · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Jackpot faces more hazard damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from wildfire

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Jackpot gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (84%), then river and rain flooding (12%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Wildfire 84%River and rain flooding 12%Earthquakes 3%

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 98%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D−
in Nevada · higher than 98% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Wildfire
84% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 5 declared for Elko County
By hazard

What Jackpot faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Wildfire

84%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

12%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Hail Strong wind Winter storms Tornadoes Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning Avalanches top 1% Volcanic activity
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsTsunamis
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts avalanches at 8% of Jackpot’s expected losses. Avalanches 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 Jackpot’s grade

Wildfire is 84% of the building damage FEMA expects in Jackpot, and Jackpot’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 12% (lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Jackpot sits
Jackpot
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Wildfire84%River and rain flooding12%Everything else3%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.2M a year in losses across Jackpot: $1.9M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Jackpot’s 855 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Owyhee CDP (1,027 residents) and Wildhorse CDP (27 residents) and Jarbidge CDP (16 residents) and Mountain City CDP (14 residents) and Tuscarora CDP (9 residents) and Midas CDP (1 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. 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 Jackpot flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: Elko County.
Disasters

The storms Jackpot remembers

None of the 5 disasters declared for Elko County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Jackpot itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in JackpotElko County only

Elko County has had 5 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 11 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Elko County, 1999–2017.

Be ready

Get ready for what Jackpot faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Jackpot

Is Jackpot at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Jackpot has higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (84%) and river and rain flooding (12%). 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 Jackpot 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 Elko County, 8% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Jackpot?

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

Is Jackpot at risk from wildfire?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (84%), and Jackpot’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Jackpot.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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