Natural hazards · Bristol

Bristol, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bristol comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bristol?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bristol to be higher than in 13% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding46%Cold waves16%Tornadoes14%Hail9%Heat waves8%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Bristol faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 16% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 18 years in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Bristol flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Ellis County.

Disasters that hit Bristol

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Ellis County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Bristol itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into BristolDeclared for Ellis County only

Ellis County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and fires.

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. Bristol 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 Bristol’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Bristol. 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.