Natural hazards · Decatur

Decatur, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Decatur comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1994. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Decatur?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Decatur to be higher than in 11% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding36%Tornadoes22%Heat waves12%Hail11%Wildfire7%Cold waves6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Decatur faces

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

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 6% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 94 years in the area

Heat waves

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Hail

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Wildfire

7% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Decatur flood?

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

2paid claims since 1994

$11Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19942026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Wise County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

31storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Decatur

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DecaturDeclared for Wise County only

2021

Severe Winter Storms

127 households applied for aid $71K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

38 households applied for aid $34K aid approved

2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

8 households applied for aid $10K aid approved $4K to the City of Decatur for repairs

2005

Extreme Wildfire Threat

1 household applied for aid

Wise County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and severe storms.

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. Decatur covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Decatur’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Decatur. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Decatur total about $1.7M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.