Natural hazards · Hernandez

Hernandez, NM natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hernandez comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hernandez?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hernandez to be higher than in 89% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding73%Wildfire11%Lightning6%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Hernandez faces

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

Inland flooding

73% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Lightning

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Hernandez flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Rio Arriba County.

Disasters that hit Hernandez

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HernandezDeclared for Rio Arriba County only

2024

South Fork Fire, Salt Fire, and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

Rio Arriba County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and severe storms.

Around Hernandez

Hernandez and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

El Duendemostly inland floodingVery high

Hernandezmostly inland floodingVery high

San Josemostly inland floodingVery high

Chamitamostly inland floodingVery high

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