Natural hazards · Capitan

Capitan, NM natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Capitan comes from inland flooding, 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 Capitan?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding55%Wildfire40%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Capitan faces

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

Inland flooding

55% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

40% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanchesVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingTsunamis

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 Capitan flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lincoln County.

Disasters that hit Capitan

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CapitanDeclared for Lincoln County only

2024

South Fork Fire, Salt Fire, and Flooding

14 households applied for aid

2022

Wildfires, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Mudflows, and Debris Flows

4 households applied for aid

2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

$23K to the Village of Capitan for repairs

Lincoln County has had 27 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. Capitan 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 Capitan’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Capitan. 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.