Photo: When reusing, please credit me as author: Adam Kliczek, http://memoriesstay.com (CC-BY-SA-3.0) If you use my image on your website, please send me an email with webpage adress. Contact me at: adam.kliczekgmail.com pl en +/− pl en +/− · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Paradise than in 60% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Paradise gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns, #12 of 42 in Nevada. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%), then earthquakes (25%). Flood insurance has paid 62 claims here since 1978.
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 Paradise 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
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 Paradise’s grade
River and rain flooding is 74% of the building damage FEMA expects in Paradise, and Paradise’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 73% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 25% (higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts).
C+ #12 of 42 in Nevada; higher expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Paradise’s residents live in 60 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, Paradise has less expected damage per building than 73% of Nevada towns.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Paradise has higher expected damage per building than 52% (#208 of 400). Because it is so big, its total expected yearly loss, $94.8M, is the 124th largest of those 400.
Does Paradise flood? Sometimes: 62 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Paradise, from FEMA’s records: 0.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 86% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- The Las Vegas Flash Flooding1 claim · $512K
Paradise 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 Paradise remembers
None of the 6 disasters declared for Clark County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Paradise itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 199935 flood claims paidThe year of Nv - Flash Flooding 7/8/99, declared for Clark County
- 19909 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19845 flood claims paidThe year of Heavy Rains 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 Paradise after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Paradise archive →Paradise and its neighbors
Paradise is 7th of the 8 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrise Manor | B+less damage than 70% | river and rain flooding | 52 |
| Henderson | B+less damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | 33 |
| Las Vegas | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 121 |
| Winchester | B−less damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Spring Valley | B−more damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 18 |
| Whitney | B−more damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 10 |
| Paradise | C+more damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 62 |
| Enterprise | C+more damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
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 Paradise 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.
- 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 Paradise
Is Paradise at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Paradise has higher expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #12 of 42 in Nevada. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%) and earthquakes (25%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Paradise flood?
Flood insurance has paid 62 claims in Paradise since 1978, $2.2M in all, or 0.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 86% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Las Vegas Flash Flooding (1).
Is Paradise 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 Paradise?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Paradise’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 Paradise?
By flood claims, Las Vegas Flash Flooding: 1 paid, $512K.
Is Paradise at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (74%), and Paradise’s rate for it is higher than 73% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Paradise.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Paradise’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.