Flood zones, flood insurance and FEMA help, in plain English

New Mexico flood insurance and flood history

From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08

Recent FEMA registration, now closed

  • Closed DR-4886-NM: Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides. Apply by October 15, 2025.The deadline to apply was October 15, 2025.

FEMA sometimes extends deadlines. Check the disaster's FEMA page or call FEMA at 800-621-3362.

1,938NFIP flood claims since 1978
$41.9 millionPaid on those claims
$67,575Average paid claimlast 10 years
1.4%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
$1,060Typical yearly NFIP costsingle-family home
21Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 1,938 flood insurance claims in New Mexico since 1978. The NFIP paid $41.9 million on them (building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments, in the dollars of the year paid).

The year with the most claims was 2024, with 296.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 649 claims, and the average paid claim was $67,575.

36% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).

About 1.4% of homes in New Mexico had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (11,342 of 807,285 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 16% (7,370 of 46,300).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 21 flood-related disaster declarations covering parts of New Mexico. The most recent was DR-4954-NM (Severe Storms and Flooding), declared October 7, 2026.

Flood insurance claims in New Mexico by year

NFIP flood claims per year in New Mexico, 1978 to 202601252503755001978: 27 claims, $37,434 paid1979: 35 claims, $109,860 paid1980: 45 claims, $74,673 paid19801981: 22 claims, $34,485 paid1982: 10 claims, $10,413 paid1983: 7 claims, $22,412 paid1984: 35 claims, $69,483 paid1985: 18 claims, $12,978 paid1986: 14 claims, $10,382 paid1987: 11 claims, $6,619 paid1988: 54 claims, $101,913 paid1989: 1 claims, $7,154 paid1990: 18 claims, $37,281 paid19901991: 13 claims, $12,233 paid1992: 83 claims, $559,847 paid1993: 3 claims, $2,733 paid1994: 14 claims, $39,459 paid1995: 26 claims, $84,522 paid1996: 28 claims, $52,475 paid1997: 11 claims, $37,178 paid1998: 6 claims, $34,594 paid1999: 34 claims, $267,058 paid2000: 29 claims, $122,421 paid20002001: 16 claims, $58,558 paid2002: 25 claims, $136,751 paid2003: 9 claims, $56,371 paid2004: 49 claims, $220,479 paid2005: 31 claims, $414,725 paid2006: 193 claims, $5.2 million paid2007: 22 claims, $107,979 paid2008: 85 claims, $2.3 million paid2009: 20 claims, $52,251 paid2010: 42 claims, $660,148 paid20102011: 15 claims, $24,008 paid2012: 16 claims, $100,566 paid2013: 98 claims, $1.9 million paid2014: 58 claims, $956,223 paid2015: 36 claims, $417,472 paid2016: 30 claims, $253,686 paid2017: 41 claims, $391,416 paid2018: 25 claims, $742,342 paid2019: 17 claims, $131,057 paid2020: 6 claims, $40,644 paid20202021: 58 claims, $850,508 paid2022: 22 claims, $276,503 paid2023: 14 claims, $100,129 paid2024: 296 claims, $15.9 million paid2025: 159 claims, $8.7 million paid2026: 11 claims, $45,457 paid
NFIP claims per year by year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for the count and amount paid. 2026 is partial.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
202611$45,457
2025159$8.7 million
2024296$15.9 million
202314$100,129
202222$276,503
202158$850,508
20206$40,644
201917$131,057
201825$742,342
201741$391,416
201630$253,686
201536$417,472
201458$956,223
201398$1.9 million
201216$100,566
201115$24,008
201042$660,148
200920$52,251
200885$2.3 million
200722$107,979
2006193$5.2 million
200531$414,725
200449$220,479
20039$56,371
200225$136,751
200116$58,558
200029$122,421
199934$267,058
19986$34,594
199711$37,178
199628$52,475
199526$84,522
199414$39,459
19933$2,733
199283$559,847
199113$12,233
199018$37,281
19891$7,154
198854$101,913
198711$6,619
198614$10,382
198518$12,978
198435$69,483
19837$22,412
198210$10,413
198122$34,485
198045$74,673
197935$109,860
197827$37,434

Biggest flood events by NFIP payments

The flood events FEMA's claims data names most often for New Mexico, ranked by what the NFIP paid. FEMA names events in its claims records; claims without an event name aren't included here.

EventYearClaimsPaid
2025 July NM Flooding202568$7.1 million
Flooding198414$13,410
Tropical Storm Harold20231$0

What flood insurance costs in New Mexico

On June 30, 2026, 13,457 NFIP flood insurance policies were in force in New Mexico. For the 9,408 single-family homes among them, the typical (median) yearly cost was about $1,060; the average was $1,350.

Rated flood zonePoliciesTypical yearly cost, single-family homeAverage costAverage building coverage
High-risk zones (A and V)8,533$1,090$1,350$193,000
Moderate- and low-risk zones (B, C and X)4,906$990$1,350$219,000

Cost here is what FEMA's data lists as the policy cost: the premium plus the reserve fund assessment, federal policy fee and HFIAA surcharge. It covers single-family homes only (not condos, apartments or businesses), with costs rounded to the nearest $10 and shown only where at least 20 homes back the figure. Your own price depends on your building and the coverage you choose; see how flood insurance is priced. Private flood insurance isn't included.

Policies and average cost by exact flood zone
Rated zonePoliciesAverage cost, single-family home
X4,893$1,350
AE3,443$1,250
A2,662$1,770
AO1,320$1,150
AH1,072$1,080
AHB19n/a
D18n/a
AOB16n/a
C13n/a
A021n/a

Flood history by county

Every New Mexico county in FEMA's data, sorted by number of NFIP claims since 1978. "Insured" is the share of homes with an NFIP policy; "typical NFIP cost" is the median yearly cost for single-family homes.

CountyClaimsPaidInsuredTypical NFIP costFlood declarations
Lincoln County269$17.1 million2.1%$1,39010
Doña Ana County208$4.9 million1.2%$9103
Lea County208$931,2582.8%$9101
Bernalillo County173$1.4 million0.5%$8402
San Miguel County139$823,76013.1%$1,2606
Chaves County132$8.4 million1.1%$1,0903
Otero County130$1.5 million2.7%$1,0908
Valencia County125$982,2916.7%$1,0603
Mora County64$478,25133.0%$1,8605
Curry County56$562,9221.0%$5900
Santa Fe County53$958,4950.6%$7402
Eddy County51$332,6471.0%$1,2403
Sandoval County51$359,0961.1%$1,0907
San Juan County48$537,4430.3%$1,1103
Rio Arriba County31$329,3880.7%$1,3104
Roosevelt County30$322,4241.3%$1,2100
Cibola County28$610,5650.6%$9104
Taos County24$51,0760.6%$1,2102
Socorro County23$434,7382.1%$1,3404
McKinley County20$30,5340.2%$7603
Sierra County15$157,8570.3%n/a4
Quay County11$32,6340.1%n/a0
Los Alamos County10$30,8680.3%n/a4
Grant County9$114,1150.3%$1,1901
Colfax County8$13,0500.3%n/a4
Catron County5$168,0850.0%n/a1
Luna County4$151,0280.2%n/a2
Hidalgo County3$27,8280.1%n/a1
Torrance County1$4,7971.4%$1,1402
De Baca County0$00.1%n/a1
Guadalupe County0$00.0%n/a3
Harding County0$00.0%n/a2
Union County0$00.0%n/a0

Flood-related FEMA disaster declarations in New Mexico

Declarations since 2000 that FEMA lists as involving flooding. "Help for individuals" means FEMA's Individual Assistance was approved for at least part of the area.

DeclarationDeclaredEventHelp for individuals
DR-4954-NM Oct 7, 2026 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-4918-NM Jun 30, 2026 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-4886-NM Jul 22, 2025 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides Yes
EM-3628-NM Jul 10, 2025 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides No
DR-4843-NM Nov 1, 2024 Severe Storm and Flooding Yes
DR-4809-NM Aug 20, 2024 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-4795-NM Jun 20, 2024 South Fork Fire, Salt Fire, and Flooding Yes
DR-4652-NM May 4, 2022 Wildfires, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Mudflows, and Debris Flows Yes
DR-4352-NM Dec 20, 2017 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-4199-NM Oct 29, 2014 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-4197-NM Oct 6, 2014 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-4152-NM Oct 29, 2013 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides No
DR-4151-NM Oct 24, 2013 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-4148-NM Sep 30, 2013 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-4147-NM Sep 27, 2013 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-4079-NM Aug 24, 2012 Flooding No
DR-4047-NM Nov 23, 2011 Flooding No
DR-1936-NM Sep 13, 2010 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-1783-NM Aug 14, 2008 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-1659-NM Aug 30, 2006 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1514-NM Apr 29, 2004 Severe Storms and Flooding No

What to do with this

A county's history doesn't tell you your own building's risk. To see your property's flood zone, use FEMA's flood map lookup. To weigh coverage, start with do I need flood insurance? and what flood insurance costs.

Where these numbers come from

All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:

FEMA's redacted claims data doesn't identify properties, and FEMA notes that some records lack a county or flood zone. See how we use the data.