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Arizona landslides and avalanches

Every recorded landslide or avalanche record since 1996 · 12 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 41 landslide and avalanche records in Arizona from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 2.6 a year since 2000. The costliest was the September 25, 2025 debris flow ($3,000 in 2025 dollars). Arizona ranks 14th of 37 states and territories by count and 18th of 37 per square mile.

Landslides and avalanches in Arizona, 1996 to 2026

Landslide records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
411996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
2.6average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$196Kas filed
Busiest year
202212 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are landslide and avalanche records common in Arizona?

Arizona averages about 2.6 landslide and avalanche records a year since 2000, 14th of 37 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2022 (12). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Arizona records 3.6 landslide and avalanche records since 1996, 18th of 37 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Puerto Rico 1837
  2. 2. Colorado 56
  3. 3. California 53
  4. 4. Hawaii 39
  5. 5. Washington 38
  6. 6. Utah 23
  7. 7. Idaho 20
  8. 8. Kentucky 15
  9. 9. North Carolina 13
  10. 10. Wyoming 10
  11. 18. Arizona 3.6

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Arizona have the most landslide and avalanche records?

Per square mile, Yavapai County leads Arizona: 10 days with a landslide or avalanche record since 1996, 1.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Coconino County has the most landslide records (13 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Yavapai County 1.2 (10)
  2. Pima County 0.9 (8)
  3. Coconino County 0.7 (13)
  4. Gila County 0.6 (4)
  5. Pinal County 0.6 (3)
  6. Greenlee County 0.5 (1)
  7. Mohave County 0.2 (3)
  8. La Paz County 0.2 (1)
  9. Graham County 0.2 (1)
  10. Navajo County 0.2 (2)
  11. Apache County 0.2 (2)
  12. Cochise County 0.2 (1)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the slide season in Arizona?

59% of its landslide and avalanche records since 1996 fell in July and August. The busiest month is July (15 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 1 · Feb 2 · Mar 1 · Apr 0 · May 2 · Jun 4 · Jul 15 · Aug 9 · Sep 3 · Oct 2 · Nov 2 · Dec 0 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest landslide and avalanche records in Arizona

Arizona: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-09-25 Debris FlowCamp Bonito, Pinal County 0 0 $3K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are landslide and avalanche records becoming more frequent in Arizona?

Arizona's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Landslides and avalanches: Arizona and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeArizonaUnited StatesArizona's share
1996-990980
2000s97901.1%
2010s111,3040.8%
2020-26211,2241.7%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent landslide and avalanche records in Arizona

The 1 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-09-25 Debris FlowCamp Bonito, Pinal County 0 0 $3K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for landslide and avalanche records in Arizona

FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Arizona for landslide and avalanche, counting its incident type and declarations that name landslide or mudslide in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); one was a major disaster, the latest on August 31, 2018.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2018-08-31DR-4389Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides1

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

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