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Natural hazards · Denver

Denver, CO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Denver comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 82 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations
Expected damage

How exposed is Denver?

60
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Denver to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding42%Hail33%Tornadoes13%Everything else13%
By hazard

What Denver faces

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

Inland flooding

42% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

33% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamis
Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Flood insurance claims

Does Denver flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Denver, from FEMA’s records.

82paid claims since 1978
$550Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19782026
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Denver isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Denver County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

3homes raised above flood level
1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Denver

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Denver itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Denver.

Brought FEMA money into DenverDeclared for Denver County only
2013

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

135 households applied for aid $152K aid approved
Denver County has had 8 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.
Around Denver

Denver and the towns around it

Lakewood: Moderate, mostly hailAurora: Moderate, mostly hailFour Square Mile: Moderate, mostly inland floodingEnglewood: High, mostly inland floodingBow Mar: High, mostly inland floodingNorth Washington: Low, mostly hailCommerce City: Moderate, mostly hailBerkley: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLittleton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGreenwood Village: Low, mostly hailSheridan: High, mostly inland floodingCherry Hills Village: Moderate, mostly inland floodingApplewood: High, mostly inland floodingDakota Ridge: Moderate, mostly hailEdgewater: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWest Pleasant View: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWheat Ridge: Very high, mostly inland floodingEast Pleasant View: Moderate, mostly hailMorrison: Very high, mostly wildfiresGolden: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCentennial: Moderate, mostly hailWatkins: High, mostly hailParker: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFoxfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingAetna Estates: Moderate, mostly hailWelby: Moderate, mostly inland floodingTwin Lakes: Moderate, mostly inland floodingDerby: Low, mostly hailBrighton: Low, mostly inland floodingThornton: Low, mostly hailWestminster: Low, mostly hailArvada: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHighlands Ranch: Low, mostly inland floodingColumbine Valley: High, mostly inland floodingColumbine: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCherry Creek: Moderate, mostly inland floodingDenver: High, mostly inland flooding DenverLakewoodAuroraFour Square MileEnglewoodBow MarNorth WashingtonCommerce CityBerkleyLittletonGreenwood VillageSheridanCherry Hills Village
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Bow Marmostly inland floodingHigh
Englewoodmostly inland floodingHigh
Sheridanmostly inland floodingHigh
Denvermostly inland floodingHigh
Littletonmostly inland floodingModerate
Cherry Hills Villagemostly inland floodingModerate
Four Square Milemostly inland floodingModerate
Berkleymostly inland floodingModerate
Lakewoodmostly hailModerate
Auroramostly hailModerate
Commerce Citymostly hailModerate
Greenwood Villagemostly hailLow
North Washingtonmostly hailLow
About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’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 here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Denver covers 178 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Denver’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Denver. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Denver total about $222M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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