Curry County, New Mexico: hazard history
What federal records show has already happened here: disaster declarations, storms, and flood insurance claims. This is a record of the past. It is not a forecast and not a hazard score.
At a glance
What this means
- The event NOAA recorded most often here is Hail, with 262 records.
- The costliest single record is Blizzard in 2015: $100.0M in property damage, in the dollars of that year.
- The deadliest record is Heavy Snow in 2011, with 4 deaths.
- FEMA has declared 6 disasters that named this county, most often for biological.
- The worst year for flood insurance claims was 1988, with 15 claims.
What this can't tell you
- What happens next. Past events do not set the odds of the next one.
- Anything before 1996 from NOAA. That is when NOAA began recording every event type; earlier files hold only tornado, hail and wind, so they are left out on purpose.
- Today's cost. Damage and payments are in the dollars of the year they happened.
- A flood rate. NFIP counts claims but not how many homes were insured, and many flooded homes carry no flood insurance.
- Earthquakes, wildfire perimeters or radar-detected hail. Those records are not tied to counties.
Federal disaster declarations (FEMA)
FEMA declared 6 disasters that named Curry County between 2000 and 2020.
| Incident type | Disasters | Most recent |
|---|---|---|
| Biological | 2 | 2020 |
| Fire | 2 | 2011 |
| Hurricane | 1 | 2005 |
| Severe Storm | 1 | 2007 |
Most recent declarations
- DR-4529 2020 · Biological · Covid-19 Pandemic
- EM-3460 2020 · Biological · Covid-19
- FM-2897 2011 · Fire · Tire Fire
- DR-1690 2007 · Severe Storm · Severe Storms And Tornadoes
- EM-3229 2005 · Hurricane · Hurricane Katrina Evacuation
- EM-3154 2000 · Fire · Severe Fire Threats
Not counted above: 38 statewide declarations, which covered every county in New Mexico. A declaration is a decision to send federal help, not a measure of how bad an event was. Records run from 1953. Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
Storms recorded by NOAA, by type
| Event type | Records | Deaths | Injuries | Property damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 262 | 0 | 0 | $2.0M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 156 | 0 | 1 | $2.3M |
| High Wind | 141 | 1 | 1 | $4.3M |
| Drought | 127 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Flash Flood | 30 | 0 | 0 | $4.0M |
| Heavy Snow | 25 | 4 | 0 | $0 |
| Tornado | 23 | 2 | 33 | $16.8M |
| Funnel Cloud | 16 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Winter Storm | 13 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | 0 | $202K |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 4 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Wildfire | 4 | 0 | 3 | $360K |
| Blizzard | 3 | 1 | 0 | $100.0M |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Strong Wind | 3 | 0 | 0 | $70K |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 2 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Dust Storm | 2 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Excessive Heat | 2 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Heat | 2 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Ice Storm | 2 | 0 | 0 | $50K |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | 0 | $5K |
| Freezing Fog | 1 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Winter Weather | 1 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
Records start in 1996. Damage is NOAA's estimate at the time, in nominal dollars, and is often rounded; it is not insurance claims data. A storm that crossed two NOAA zones in this county is recorded, and counted, once per zone.
Year by year
NOAA storm event records in Curry County each year. The busiest year was 2023, with 84 records.
Show the numbers for every year
| Year | Records | Deaths | Property damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 14 | 0 | $100K |
| 1997 | 11 | 0 | $20K |
| 1998 | 23 | 0 | $390K |
| 1999 | 10 | 0 | $30K |
| 2000 | 21 | 0 | $50K |
| 2001 | 9 | 0 | $20K |
| 2002 | 29 | 0 | $360K |
| 2003 | 34 | 0 | $15K |
| 2004 | 13 | 0 | $0 |
| 2005 | 20 | 0 | $0 |
| 2006 | 9 | 0 | $0 |
| 2007 | 15 | 2 | $16.5M |
| 2008 | 15 | 0 | $0 |
| 2009 | 32 | 1 | $73K |
| 2010 | 38 | 0 | $1.3M |
| 2011 | 33 | 5 | $405K |
| 2012 | 36 | 0 | $156K |
| 2013 | 56 | 1 | $11K |
| 2014 | 47 | 0 | $476K |
| 2015 | 36 | 0 | $103.4M |
| 2016 | 17 | 0 | $5K |
| 2017 | 29 | 0 | $215K |
| 2018 | 32 | 0 | $64K |
| 2019 | 45 | 0 | $1.5M |
| 2020 | 15 | 0 | $0 |
| 2021 | 33 | 0 | $150K |
| 2022 | 23 | 0 | $0 |
| 2023 | 84 | 0 | $4.9M |
| 2024 | 27 | 0 | $12K |
| 2025 | 24 | 0 | $65K |
| 2026 | 7 | 0 | $0 |
Years with no record are left out of the table, not shown as zero.
Notable events
Costliest records
- Blizzard · Dec 26, 2015$100.0MNOAA name: CURRY COUNTY · NOAA record 605796
- Tornado · Mar 23, 2007$16.5MNOAA name: CURRY · 2 deaths · 33 injuries · NOAA record 20730
- Flash Flood · May 4, 2015$3.0MNOAA name: CURRY · NOAA record 565368
- High Wind · Feb 26, 2023$3.0MNOAA name: CURRY COUNTY · NOAA record 1073674
- Hail · Jun 12, 2010$1.3MNOAA name: CURRY · NOAA record 224640
Deadliest records
- Heavy Snow · Dec 19, 20114 deathsNOAA name: CURRY COUNTY · NOAA record 352561
- Tornado · Mar 23, 20072 deathsNOAA name: CURRY · $16.5M damage · 33 injuries · NOAA record 20730
- High Wind · Apr 4, 20091 deathNOAA name: CURRY · NOAA record 153432
- Winter Weather · Dec 25, 20111 deathNOAA name: CURRY COUNTY · NOAA record 352912
- Blizzard · Feb 24, 20131 deathNOAA name: CURRY COUNTY · NOAA record 427801
Each line is one NOAA record, linked to its page at NOAA. One large storm can appear more than once if NOAA recorded it in several zones of this county. Dollars are nominal.
Flood insurance claims (NFIP)
The National Flood Insurance Program paid $563K on 56 claims in Curry County from 1984 to 2023.
| Year | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 15 | $7K |
| 1996 | 9 | $15K |
| 2014 | 6 | $242K |
| 2010 | 5 | $121K |
| 2023 | 4 | $54K |
A count of claims, not a rate: NFIP publishes no count of insured homes beside it, and most flood damage is uninsured. Nominal dollars. Records run from 1978 to 2024; claims filed without a county code are not on any county page. Source: FEMA OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims.
Hazard vulnerability analysis: the probability column for a facility in Curry County
A hazard vulnerability analysis rates each hazard for probability, impact, preparedness and response. Probability is the one column the county’s federal record can fill — NCEI storm events from 1996 to 2026 and FEMA declarations naming the county — and this is what it says for a facility here, on the 0–3 scale of the all-hazards structure surveyors expect. The other six columns are the facility’s own judgment about its building, and Calchis leaves them blank.
| Hazard | Prob. | Basis, from the county record |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Thunderstorm | 3 | 423 NCEI events over 31 years (13.65/yr). 1 federal disaster declaration naming the county. |
| Flood, External | 3 | 42 NCEI events over 31 years (1.35/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Snow Fall / Blizzard / Ice Storm | 3 | 45 NCEI events over 31 years (1.45/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Drought | 3 | 127 NCEI events over 31 years (4.10/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| High Wind (non-convective) | 3 | 144 NCEI events over 31 years (4.65/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Hurricane / Tropical Storm | 2 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. 1 federal disaster declaration naming the county. |
| Tornado | 2 | 23 NCEI events over 31 years (0.74/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Temperature Extremes | 2 | 10 NCEI events over 31 years (0.32/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Wild Fire | 2 | 4 NCEI events over 31 years (0.13/yr). 2 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Epidemic | 2 | 2 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Earthquake | 1 | No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Landslide | 1 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Tidal Wave / Tsunami | 1 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Volcano | 1 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Dam Inundation | 1 | No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
A dash means the record does not speak to that hazard; it is not a zero. Whether a finished document satisfies the CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule is the facility’s finding and its surveyor’s. Complete the HVA for a facility in Curry County — the technological, human and hazardous-materials rows, the six facility columns, the approval and the printed document — or read the sample analysis on that page first.
How this page was made
- Every figure is counted from public federal records held by Calchis: NOAA NCEI Storm Events, FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, and FEMA NFIP claims. Nothing is modeled or estimated.
- NOAA files some events by county and others by forecast zone, and names both. Records are counted as Curry County when their NOAA name is this county's name, alone or with a word like “Coastal” or “Inland” in front. The county codes NOAA also publishes have not been loaded for New Mexico yet; when they are, this page will count by code instead, and some counties' records will grow. NOAA names counted here: CURRY, CURRY COUNTY. Zones named for something else, such as a mountain range or two counties at once, are left out: 44% of New Mexico's NOAA records.
- Counts last rebuilt from the source records on Sep 15, 2026.
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Recorded history from federal public records. Not a hazard score, a risk score, or a forecast, and not a substitute for professional actuarial or emergency-management assessment. Decision-support intelligence — not a primary alerting or dispatch system. Verify against official sources.