Natural hazards · Chester

Chester, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chester comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Chester?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chester to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding40%Hurricanes28%Tornadoes11%Cold waves9%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Chester faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

28% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Chester flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Tyler County.

Disasters that hit Chester

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChesterDeclared for Tyler County only

2024

Hurricane Beryl

26 households applied for aid $75K aid approved

2024

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

36 households applied for aid $364K aid approved

2021

Severe Winter Storms

18 households applied for aid $17K aid approved

2017

Hurricane Harvey

41 households applied for aid $77K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Ike

117 households applied for aid $57K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Rita

352 households applied for aid $460K aid approved

Tyler County has had 26 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. Chester 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 Chester’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Chester. 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.