Natural hazards · Ames

Ames, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ames comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 26 claims here since 1994. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ames?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ames to be higher than in 56% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding26%Hurricanes25%Tornadoes24%Cold waves7%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Ames faces

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

Inland flooding

26% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 37% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

25% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Tornadoes

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Ames flood?

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

26paid claims since 1994

$1.2Mpaid to owners

5homes flooded more than once

19942026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Imelda: 13 claims, $783K
Hurricane Harvey: 4 claims, $149K
Fall severe storms: 2 claims, $129K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Liberty County.

Disasters that hit Ames

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AmesDeclared for Liberty County only

2024

Hurricane Beryl

51 households applied for aid $45K aid approved

2024

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

8 households applied for aid $6K aid approved $113K to the City of Ames for repairs

2021

Severe Winter Storms

11 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

2019

Tropical Storm Imelda

12 households applied for aid $13K aid approved

2017

Hurricane Harvey

37 households applied for aid $50K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $8K aid approved $6K to the City of Ames for repairs

2008

Hurricane Ike

53 households applied for aid $110K aid approved $4K to the City of Ames for repairs

2005

Hurricane Rita

40 households applied for aid $53K aid approved $4K to the City of Ames for repairs

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Liberty County has had 31 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods 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. Ames 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 Ames’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Ames. 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.