Natural hazards · Ruidoso Downs

Ruidoso Downs, NM natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ruidoso Downs comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 1982. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ruidoso Downs?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ruidoso Downs to be higher than in 95% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires and inland flooding.

Wildfire58%Inland flooding38%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Ruidoso Downs faces

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

Wildfire

58% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% 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 Ruidoso Downs flood?

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

15paid claims since 1982

$907Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

2025 July NM Flooding: 4 claims, $431K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Ruidoso Downs 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 Ruidoso Downs

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Ruidoso DownsDeclared for Lincoln County only

2025

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides

117 households applied for aid $1.4M aid approved $217K to the City of Ruidoso Downs for repairs

2024

South Fork Fire, Salt Fire, and Flooding

384 households applied for aid $328K aid approved $472K to the City of Ruidoso Downs for repairs

2022

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

17 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Extreme Cold Temperatures

$3K to the City of Ruidoso Downs for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$137K to the City of Ruidoso Downs for repairs

2000

Severe Forest Fire

$3K to the City of Ruidoso Downs 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. Ruidoso Downs 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 Ruidoso Downs’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Ruidoso Downs. 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.