Natural hazards · Houston

Houston, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Houston comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Houston?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Houston to be higher than in 86% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding47%Tornadoes24%Ice storms6%Heat waves6%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Houston faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

24% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Ice storms

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Houston flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Houston.

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Houston isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Perry County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

6flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Houston

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Houston itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Houston.

Brought FEMA money into HoustonDeclared for Perry County only

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

41 households applied for aid $292K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

17 households applied for aid $65K aid approved

Perry County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms 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. Houston 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 Houston’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Houston. 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.