LDS Moapa Stake Office Building · Photo: Ymblanter · CC BY-SA 3.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Moapa Valley than in 88% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Moapa Valley gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns, #31 of 42 in Nevada. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (55%), then wildfire (31%). Flood insurance has paid 13 claims here since 1981.
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 Moapa Valley 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 Moapa Valley’s grade
River and rain flooding is 55% of the building damage FEMA expects in Moapa Valley, and Moapa Valley’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 31%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D #31 of 42 in Nevada; higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Moapa Valley’s residents live in 3 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, Moapa Valley has more expected damage per building than 73% of Nevada towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $8.1M a year in losses across Moapa Valley: $5.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Moapa Valley flood? Sometimes: 13 flood claims since 1981
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Moapa Valley, from FEMA’s records: 5.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 60% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Moapa Valley isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Clark County.The storms Moapa Valley remembers
None of the 6 disasters declared for Clark County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Moapa Valley itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20145 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20054 flood claims paidThe year of Heavy Rains and Flooding, declared for Clark County
- 19812 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Clark County
Clark County has had 6 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 5 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Clark County, 2002–2013.
Old photos of Moapa Valley after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Moapa Valley archive →Get ready for what Moapa Valley 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 Moapa Valley
Is Moapa Valley at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Moapa Valley has higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #31 of 42 in Nevada. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (55%) and wildfire (31%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Moapa Valley flood?
Flood insurance has paid 13 claims in Moapa Valley since 1981, $609K in all, or 5.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 60% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Moapa Valley 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 Clark County, 30% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Moapa Valley?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Moapa Valley’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Moapa Valley at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (55%), and Moapa Valley’s rate for it is higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Moapa Valley.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Moapa Valley’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.