Wickenburg’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wickenburg comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 35 claims here since 1991. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Wickenburg’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Wickenburg
Disasters that paid out in Wickenburg itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Wickenburg) and its biggest flood years.
- 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$38K to the Town of Wickenburg for repairs20 flood claims paid that year
Maricopa County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.
Old photos of Wickenburg after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Wickenburg archive →How exposed is Wickenburg?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 57% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.
Calmer than 340 of the 467 Arizona towns we cover.
Wickenburg covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Wickenburg faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Heat waves
Wildfire
Does Wickenburg flood? Sometimes: 35 flood claims since 1991
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Wickenburg, from FEMA’s records.
Wickenburg isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Maricopa County.Get ready for what Wickenburg actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, 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.
- Know the nearest cooling center or air-conditioned library.
- Drink water before you feel thirsty.
- Check on neighbors who live alone.
- 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.
Most disasters here begin in May–July
The month each of Maricopa County’s 23 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.
- Compared by rate. “Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Wickenburg’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Wickenburg.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Wickenburg, expected losses total about $2.7M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wickenburg.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau. Weather alerts: National Weather Service. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.