Natural hazards · Matheson

Matheson, CO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Matheson comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Matheson?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Matheson to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding44%Hail19%Wildfire11%Tornadoes10%Cold waves8%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Matheson faces

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

Inland flooding

44% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Wildfire

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Matheson flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Matheson.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Matheson isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Elbert County.

Disasters that hit Matheson

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Elbert County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Matheson itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into MathesonDeclared for Elbert County only

Elbert County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

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. Matheson is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Matheson’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Matheson. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

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.