Natural hazards · Amarillo

Amarillo, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Amarillo comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 409 claims here since 1978. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Amarillo?

63
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Amarillo to be higher than in 63% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and hail.

Tornadoes28%Hail28%Inland flooding16%Cold waves11%Strong wind6%Everything else12%
By hazard

What Amarillo faces

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

Tornadoes

28% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Hail

28% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 10% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Amarillo flood?

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

409paid claims since 1978
$7.2Mpaid to owners
20homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Gilbert: 115 claims, $2.0M
  • Early summer storms: 1 claim, $7K
  • Fall severe storms: 1 claim, $5K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (5) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Amarillo isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Potter County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1,189storm safe rooms built
1buildings retrofitted against wind
Disasters that hit Amarillo

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AmarilloDeclared for Potter County only
2011

Wildfires

$9K to the City of Amarillo for repairs
2005

Extreme Wildfire Threat

12 households applied for aid $106K aid approved
2005

Hurricane Rita

$137K to the City of Amarillo for repairs
2005

Hurricane Katrina Evacuation

$638K to the City of Amarillo for repairs
2000

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$369K to the City of Amarillo for repairs
Potter County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and hurricanes.
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. Amarillo covers 53 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Amarillo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Amarillo. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Amarillo total about $85.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01