Natural hazards · Dawson

Dawson, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Dawson comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Dawson?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Dawson to be higher than in 26% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding35%Tornadoes28%Cold waves12%Heat waves5%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Dawson faces

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

Inland flooding

35% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 23% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

28% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about 16 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce 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 Dawson flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Navarro County.

Disasters that hit Dawson

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DawsonDeclared for Navarro County only

2024

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

4 households applied for aid $47K aid approved

2021

Severe Winter Storms

19 households applied for aid $30K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

23 households applied for aid $27K aid approved

Navarro County has had 21 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. Dawson 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 Dawson’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Dawson. 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.