Natural hazards · Ward

Ward, CO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ward comes from avalanches, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ward?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ward to be higher than in 98% of U.S. communities, mostly from avalanches and wildfires.

Avalanches53%Wildfire24%Inland flooding19%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Ward faces

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

Avalanches

53% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Wildfire

24% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesHeat wavesDroughtTsunamis

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 Ward flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Boulder County.

Disasters that hit Ward

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WardDeclared for Boulder County only

2021

Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds

1 household applied for aid

2013

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

78 households applied for aid $103K aid approved $5K to the Town of Ward for repairs

2006

Snow

$788 to the Town of Ward for repairs

Boulder County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

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. Ward 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 Ward’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Ward. 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.