Natural hazards · Elkhart

Elkhart, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elkhart comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low 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 Elkhart?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elkhart to be higher than in 17% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding32%Tornadoes26%Cold waves14%Drought8%Strong wind5%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Elkhart faces

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

Inland flooding

32% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

26% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 17 years in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 32 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Elkhart flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Anderson County.

Disasters that hit Elkhart

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElkhartDeclared for Anderson County only

2024

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

85 households applied for aid $359K aid approved

2021

Severe Winter Storms

87 households applied for aid $28K aid approved

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

2008

Hurricane Ike

1 household applied for aid

2005

Extreme Wildfire Threat

1 household applied for aid $25K aid approved

2001

Tx-Tropical Storm Allison-06-06-2001

$848 to the Town of Elkhart for repairs

Anderson County has had 24 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. Elkhart 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 Elkhart’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Elkhart. 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.