Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Spring Creek than almost anywhere in the U.S., mostly from wildfire
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Spring Creek gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (92%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Spring Creek faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Wildfire
River and rain flooding
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 Spring Creek’s grade
Wildfire is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Spring Creek, and Spring Creek’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 6% (lower than 77% of U.S. census tracts).
D− #42 of 42 in Nevada; among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
Spring Creek’s residents live in 5 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, Spring Creek has more expected damage per building than 100% of Nevada towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $26.4M a year in losses across Spring Creek: $23.9M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Spring Creek flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Spring Creek. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Spring Creek 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.The storms Spring Creek remembers
None of the 5 disasters declared for Elko County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Spring Creek itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
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.
Spring Creek and its neighbors
Spring Creek has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Creek | D−among the highest damage | wildfire | 0 |
| Lamoille | — | 0 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 Spring Creek faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Spring Creek
Is Spring Creek at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Spring Creek has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (92%) and river and rain flooding (6%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Spring Creek 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 Spring Creek?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Spring Creek’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Spring Creek at risk from wildfire?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Spring Creek’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Spring Creek.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Spring Creek’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.