Natural hazards · Gainesville

Gainesville, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gainesville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 274 claims here since 1981. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Gainesville?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gainesville to be higher than in 50% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding59%Tornadoes23%Hail5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Gainesville faces

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

Inland flooding

59% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

23% of expected damage

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

Hail

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Gainesville flood?

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

274paid claims since 1981

$8.6Mpaid to owners

38homes flooded more than once

19812026

Biggest named events

Thunderstorms: 103 claims, $5.8M
Spring Storm: 33 claims, $799K
Early summer storms: 1 claim, $87K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (4) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Cooke County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

221storm safe rooms built

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Gainesville

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GainesvilleDeclared for Cooke County only

2024

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

69 households applied for aid $118K aid approved

2021

Severe Winter Storms

173 households applied for aid $105K aid approved $41K to the City of Gainesville for repairs

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

164 households applied for aid $114K aid approved $578K to the City of Gainesville for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

574 households applied for aid $2.9M aid approved $413K to the City of Gainesville for repairs

2005

Extreme Wildfire Threat

3 households applied for aid

2005

Hurricane Katrina Evacuation

$36K to the City of Gainesville for repairs

Cooke County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms 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. Gainesville covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Gainesville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Gainesville. 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 Gainesville total about $2.3M 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.