Gila County, Arizona
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 04007 · population 53,118 · 4,758 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 780 records for Gila County, Arizona from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 510 days; the most frequent are floods and flash floods (254 records). The deadliest single record is the July 15, 2017 flash flood: 10 deaths. FEMA has issued 23 declarations naming the county since 1970, 21 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Telegraph Fire” on June 6, 2021.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 780on 510 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 3648 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $104Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 4strongest EF1
- FEMA declarations
- 23latest 2021
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Gila County most?
The most frequent records are floods and flash floods: 254 since 1996. 66% of its floods and flash floods since 1996 fell in July and August. The rank column places the county among Arizona's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | 254 | 172 | 1996-2025 | 21 | 2 | $83M | 3 of 15 |
| Heat | 114 | 40 | 2017-2024 | 3 | 0 | – | 10 of 15 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 91 | 78 | 1961-2025 | 6 | 4 | $713K | 10 of 15 |
| Heavy rain | 89 | 85 | 1998-2025 | 0 | 0 | $34K | 1 of 15 |
| Winter storms | 87 | 73 | 1996-2025 | 3 | 0 | $77K | 4 of 15 |
| Hail | 74 | 66 | 1955-2025 | 0 | 0 | $33K | 6 of 15 |
| Wildfires | 26 | 26 | 1996-2024 | 1 | 5 | $19M | 5 of 15 |
| High wind and dust storms | 20 | 19 | 1996-2025 | 1 | 15 | $176K | 15 of 15 |
| Lightning | 9 | 9 | 1997-2009 | 1 | 5 | $222K | 6 of 15 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 7 | 7 | 1999-2018 | 0 | 8 | – | 12 of 15 |
| Landslides and avalanches | 4 | 3 | 2010-2021 | 0 | 0 | $114K | 4 of 15 |
| Tornadoes | 4 | 4 | 1966-2023 | 0 | 9 | $227K | 11 of 15 |
| Extreme cold | 1 | 1 | 2011-2011 | 0 | 0 | $131K | 15 of 15 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.
How many tornadoes has Gila County had?
NOAA records 4 tornadoes in Gila County from 1966 to 2023, the strongest rated EF1, with 0 deaths and 9 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.
Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 4 tornadoes whose track touched Gila County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 4, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Arizona.
Every tornado record filed for Gila County (4)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-11-19 | Payson, Gila County | EF1 2.4 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2004-09-04 | Young, Gila County | F0 1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1996-07-14 | Globe, Gila County | F1 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1966-08-09 | Gila County | F1 | 0 | 9 | $25K step |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.
When was the last damaging storm in Gila County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the October 13, 2025 flash flood ($2,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-19 | Flash FloodStrawberry, Gila County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-10-13 | Flash FloodBorch, Gila County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-10-13 | Flash FloodGlobe San Carlos Fcl, Gila County | 0 | 0 | $2K | |
| 2025-10-13 | Flash FloodGlobe, Gila County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-10-13 | Flash FloodGlobe, Gila County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-10-13 | Flash FloodGlobe, Gila County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-10-12 | Flash FloodCutter, Gila County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-10-12 | Flash FloodMiami, Gila County | 0 | 0 | $3.0M | |
| 2025-10-12 | Flash FloodGlobe, Gila County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-10-12 | Flash FloodMiami, Gila County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-10-12 | Flash FloodMiami, Gila County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-10-11 | FloodRoosevelt Grpvn Airport, Gila County | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.
The deadliest and costliest records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-07-15 | Flash FloodWashington Park, Gila County Very heavy rain over the Highland Fire scar and surrounding areas produced flash flooding in Ellison Creek which flows into the East Verde River. This is a very popular swimming area during the summer. Ten people were killed by the flooding (ages 2 to 57). Four people were rescued by helicopter after they were trapped ... | 10 | 0 | – | |
| 1990-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindGila County | 6 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-09-26 | Flash FloodPinal, Gila County Catastrophic and deadly flash flooding occurred in the Globe area following strong to severe thunderstorms that produced very high rainfall rates. Observed gauge reports and doppler radar rainfall estimates measured approximately 2 inches of rain within 30 minutes in the Globe area. A stream gauge along the typically ... | 3 | 0 | $25M | |
| 2019-11-29 | FloodPunkin Center, Gila County A powerful Pacific low pressure system moving slowly east across Arizona interacted with deep moisture to produce widespread moderate to heavy rain across the higher terrain areas to the north and east of Phoenix during the morning hours on November 29th. Initially the heavy rain led to flash flooding and caused area ... | 3 | 0 | $58K | |
| 2023-03-21 | FloodWhispering Pines, Gila County Tonto Creek near Roosevelt started to rise from a level of 3.7 feet (630 CFS) at around 1100 AM on March 21. The flooding started earlier upstream. The first peak flow of 12.2 feet (23,300 CFS) was at 800 PM on March 21. A second peak of 12.5 feet (25,500 CFS) was observed at 800 AM on March 22. The gauge dropped back ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 1999-07-06 | Dust StormGila County and 2 more · forecast zone S Gila/Ne Maricopa/X N Pinal The widespread dust storm sharply reduced visibility along Interstate 10, about 7 miles northeast of Casa Grande. One motorist was killed as a series of wrecks were reported in a 25-mile section of the freeway. | 1 | 14 | – | |
| 2000-08-12 | LightningPayson, Gila County Three hikers were hit by lightning 10 miles north of Payson. One died and the other two were injured. | 1 | 2 | – | |
| 2019-07-22 | Flash FloodRadium, Gila County Thunderstorms with very heavy rain developed across portions of southern Gila County during the evening hours on July 22nd; some of the stronger storms produced peak rain rates in excess of one inch per hour that were sufficient to cause episodes of flash flooding. Some of the flash flooding affected the area near the ... | 1 | 1 | $23K |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-07-29 | Flash FloodMiami, Gila County | 0 | 0 | $44M | |
| 2025-09-26 | Flash FloodPinal, Gila County | 3 | 0 | $25M | |
| 2021-06-04 | WildfireGila County and 2 more · forecast zone Pinal/Superstition Mountains | 0 | 0 | $8.7M | |
| 2021-08-18 | Flash FloodLittle Acres, Gila County | 0 | 0 | $8.7M | |
| 2024-07-10 | WildfireGila County · forecast zone San Carlos | 0 | 0 | $4.7M | |
| 2009-05-30 | WildfireGila County · forecast zone Northern Gila County | 0 | 0 | $4.1M | |
| 2025-10-12 | Flash FloodMiami, Gila County | 0 | 0 | $3.0M | |
| 2020-06-18 | WildfireGila County · forecast zone Northern Gila County | 0 | 0 | $1.1M |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $25K, in the dollars of the day) holds: August 9, 1966 (tornado, Gila County).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.
Is it getting more frequent?
Records per decade for Gila County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 17 | 45 | 62 | 130 |
| Heat | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | 36 | 78 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 16 |
| Heavy rain | – | – | – | – | 2 | 31 | 50 | 6 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 9 | 28 | 34 | 16 |
| Hail | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 36 | 13 | 6 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
66% of its floods and flash floods since 1996 fell in July and August. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 34 · Feb 47 · Mar 21 · Apr 12 · May 12 · Jun 53 · Jul 252 · Aug 191 · Sep 86 · Oct 30 · Nov 10 · Dec 32 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Gila County
FEMA's register lists 23 declarations that include Gila County: 13 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 8 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (9) and flood (7).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-06-06 | FM-5389 | Fire | Telegraph Fire |
| 2020-08-26 | FM-5340 | Fire | Griffin Fire |
| 2020-06-20 | FM-5313 | Fire | Bush Fire |
| 2020-04-04 | DR-4524 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3442 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2010-03-18 | DR-1888 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms and Flooding |
| 2009-08-31 | FM-2835 | Fire | Water Wheel Fire |
| 2006-09-07 | DR-1660 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2005-09-12 | EM-3241 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2005-07-22 | FM-2570 | Fire | Az-Wildfire (Edge Complex) 07-22-2005 |
| 2005-04-14 | DR-1586 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2005-02-17 | DR-1581 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2004-06-28 | FM-2523 | Fire | Willow Fire |
| 2003-07-14 | FM-2478 | Fire | Kinishba Fire |
| 2002-06-25 | DR-1422 | Fire | Wildfires |
| 1999-06-12 | FM-2263 | Fire | Az - Rainbow Fire - 06/11/1999 |
| 1993-01-19 | DR-977 | Flood | Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding |
| 1990-12-06 | DR-884 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1983-10-05 | DR-691 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1980-02-19 | DR-614 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1978-12-21 | DR-570 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1978-03-04 | DR-551 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1970-09-22 | DR-294 | Flood | Heavy Rains & Flash |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.
How many floods has Gila County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 254 flood or flash flood records for Gila County from 1996 to 2025, on 172 days, with 21 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Gila County ranks 1073rd of 2,942 U.S. counties.
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $3.5 million on 154 claims filed in Gila County; the most in one year was 35 in 1993. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1980: 5 · 1981: 5 · 1983: 16 · 1984: 2 · 1990: 1 · 1993: 35 · 1998: 1 · 2003: 6 · 2004: 4 · 2005: 4 · 2006: 4 · 2007: 8 · 2008: 6 · 2010: 23 · 2013: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2021: 11 · 2025: 16; the other years: 0.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.
FEMA's modeled risk for Gila County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Gila County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $55.2 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildfire | Relatively High | $17M | once in about 90 years (modeled) |
| Lightning | Relatively High | $1.1M | 58 a year (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | $191K | 6.5 a year (modeled) |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | $35M | 5.5 a year (modeled) |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | $1.5M | 3.5 modeled event-days a year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | $8K | 4.5 a year (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | $278K | about once a year (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Very Low | $278K | once in about 1,142 years (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Gila County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.
Next
- Tornadoes in ArizonaEvery Arizona tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- Floods in ArizonaThe state's floods and flash floods, by county, year and month
- The Arizona recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Gila CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Gila County's FEMA declarations (CSV)23 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis