Natural hazards · Cotulla

Cotulla, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cotulla comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 2002. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cotulla?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cotulla to be higher than in 47% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves45%Inland flooding34%Heat waves11%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Cotulla faces

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

Cold waves

45% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Cotulla flood?

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

6paid claims since 2002

$48Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20022026

Biggest named events

Torrential rain: 2 claims, $16K
Hurricane Claudette: 1 claim, $15K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: La Salle County.

Disasters that hit Cotulla

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CotullaDeclared for La Salle County only

2002

Severe Storms and Flooding

$69K to the City of Cotulla for repairs

La Salle County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes 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. Cotulla 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 Cotulla’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Cotulla. 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.