Natural hazards · El Campo

El Campo, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in El Campo comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 155 claims here since 1979. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is El Campo?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in El Campo to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and cold waves.

Hurricanes47%Cold waves22%Inland flooding20%Everything else12%

By hazard

What El Campo faces

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

Hurricanes

47% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Inland flooding

20% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 45% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 El Campo flood?

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

155paid claims since 1979

$3.0Mpaid to owners

11homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Bill: 5 claims, $144K
Hurricane Harvey: 1 claim, $7K
Heavy rains: 1 claim, $20K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Wharton County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit El Campo

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into El CampoDeclared for Wharton County only

2024

Hurricane Beryl

2,693 households applied for aid $3.6M aid approved $1.3M to the City of El Campo for repairs

2021

Severe Winter Storms

342 households applied for aid $176K aid approved

2017

Hurricane Harvey

857 households applied for aid $303K aid approved $25K to the City of El Campo for repairs

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $17K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

48 households applied for aid $32K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Ike

$35K to the City of El Campo for repairs

Wharton County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

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. El Campo covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to El Campo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of El Campo. 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 El Campo total about $2.9M 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.