Natural hazards · Austwell

Austwell, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Austwell comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2007. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Austwell?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Austwell to be higher than in 89% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes40%Inland flooding19%Drought17%Cold waves16%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Austwell faces

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

Hurricanes

40% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Inland flooding

19% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

17% of expected damage

Recorded about 62 times a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Austwell flood?

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

3paid claims since 2007

$35Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20072026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Bill: 1 claim, $689
Thunderstorms: 1 claim, $14K
Hurricane Harvey: 1 claim, $21K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Refugio County.

Disasters that hit Austwell

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AustwellDeclared for Refugio County only

2017

Hurricane Harvey

98 households applied for aid $152K aid approved $167K to the City of Austwell for repairs

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

$19K to the City of Austwell for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid

2003

Hurricane Claudette

42 households applied for aid $23K aid approved $15K to the City of Austwell for repairs

Refugio County has had 24 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes 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. Austwell 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 Austwell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Austwell. 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.