Natural hazards · Pierce

Pierce, CO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pierce comes from hail, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1997. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Pierce?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pierce to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and cold waves.

Hail33%Cold waves24%Inland flooding20%Wildfire10%Tornadoes9%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Pierce faces

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

Hail

33% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Cold waves

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

20% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Pierce flood?

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

1paid claims since 1997

$312paid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19972026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Weld County.

Disasters that hit Pierce

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PierceDeclared for Weld County only

2008

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid

Weld County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe 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. Pierce 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 Pierce’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Pierce. 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.