Natural hazards · Denver

Denver, IL 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.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Denver?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Denver to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding44%Earthquakes24%Drought8%Tornadoes8%Everything else16%

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

44% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

24% of expected damage

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

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Denver flood?

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

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: Richland County.

Disasters that hit Denver

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into DenverDeclared for Richland County only

Richland County has had 6 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and severe storms.

Around Denver

Denver and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Smallwoodmostly inland floodingHigh

Pixleymostly inland floodingHigh

Denvermostly inland floodingHigh

Noblemostly inland floodingHigh

Prestonmostly inland floodingHigh

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