Natural hazards · Las Vegas

Las Vegas, NM natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Las Vegas comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 28 claims here since 1995. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Las Vegas?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Las Vegas to be higher than in 67% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding78%Wildfire14%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Las Vegas faces

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

Inland flooding

78% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

14% of expected damage

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

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Las Vegas flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Las Vegas, from FEMA’s records.

28paid claims since 1995

$440Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19952026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Las Vegas 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 Miguel County.

Disasters that hit Las Vegas

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Las Vegas itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Las Vegas.

Brought FEMA money into Las VegasDeclared for San Miguel County only

2022

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

1,328 households applied for aid $1.2M aid approved $27.2M to the City of Las Vegas for repairs

2013

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

$397K to the City of Las Vegas for repairs

2000

Severe Forest Fire

$3K to the City of Las Vegas for repairs

San Miguel County has had 17 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. Las Vegas covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Las Vegas’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Las Vegas. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Las Vegas total about $3.9M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.