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Natural hazards · Houston

Houston, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Houston comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1990. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Houston?

52
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Houston to be higher than in 52% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves36%Inland flooding21%Heat waves12%Earthquakes11%Tornadoes10%Everything else10%
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.

Cold waves

36% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

21% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 45% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

12% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places
Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

11% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 28 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Houston, from FEMA’s records.

5paid claims since 1990
$284Kpaid to owners
1homes flooded more than once
19902026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

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: Texas County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

4flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
2storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Houston

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HoustonDeclared for Texas County only
2024

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

8 households applied for aid $27K aid approved
2017

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

14 households applied for aid $19K aid approved $191K to the City of Houston for repairs
2015

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

6 households applied for aid $56K to the City of Houston for repairs
2009

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

16 households applied for aid $7K aid approved $48K to the City of Houston for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Flooding, and a Tornado

3 households applied for aid $11K aid approved $32K to the City of Houston for repairs
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $4K aid approved
2008

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

$78K to the City of Houston for repairs
Texas County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and ice 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. 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 City 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.

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