Natural hazards · Kirtland

Kirtland, NM natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kirtland comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low 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 Kirtland?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kirtland to be higher than in 15% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding68%Cold waves12%Earthquakes9%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Kirtland faces

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

Inland flooding

68% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 19 years in the area

Earthquakes

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Kirtland flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: San Juan County.

Disasters that hit Kirtland

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KirtlandDeclared for San Juan County only

2024

South Fork Fire, Salt Fire, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid

San Juan County has had 8 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. Kirtland 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 Kirtland’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Kirtland. 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.