Natural hazards · Mescalero

Mescalero, NM natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mescalero comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Mescalero?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Mescalero to be higher than in 100% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires and inland flooding.

Wildfire67%Inland flooding27%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Mescalero faces

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

Wildfire

67% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanchesVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamis

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 Mescalero flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Otero County.

Disasters that hit Mescalero

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MescaleroDeclared for Otero County only

2024

South Fork Fire, Salt Fire, and Flooding

253 households applied for aid $390K aid approved

2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

41 households applied for aid $11K aid approved

Otero County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and severe storms.

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