Natural hazards · El Paso

El Paso, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in El Paso comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is El Paso?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in El Paso to be higher than in 36% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding45%Cold waves22%Tornadoes12%Drought7%Everything else14%

By hazard

What El Paso faces

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

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Drought

7% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 El Paso flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Woodford County.

Disasters that hit El Paso

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in El Paso itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of El Paso.

Brought FEMA money into El PasoDeclared for Woodford County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $9K aid approved $5K to the City of El Paso for repairs

1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$3K to the City of El Paso for repairs

Woodford County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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. El Paso 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 El Paso’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of El Paso. 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.