Natural hazards · Walsenburg

Walsenburg, CO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Walsenburg comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2005. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Walsenburg?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Walsenburg to be higher than in 82% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding82%Lightning6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Walsenburg faces

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

Inland flooding

82% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lightning

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windDrought

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 Walsenburg flood?

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

1paid claims since 2005

$1Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20052026

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Huerfano County.

Disasters that hit Walsenburg

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WalsenburgDeclared for Huerfano County only

2006

Snow

$5K to the City of Walsenburg for repairs

Huerfano County has had 8 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires 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. Walsenburg 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 Walsenburg’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Walsenburg. 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.