Goodrich’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Goodrich comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Goodrich’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Goodrich flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Goodrich. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Goodrich isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Polk County.How exposed is Goodrich?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 75% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.
Rated higher than 1,641 of the 1,859 Texas towns we cover.
Goodrich is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Goodrich faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Cold waves
Strong wind
6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Goodrich
Disasters that paid out in Goodrich itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Goodrich) and its biggest flood years.
- 2024Hurricane Beryl379 households applied for aid$655K aid approved
- 2024Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding276 households applied for aid$1.5M aid approved
- 2021Severe Winter Storms61 households applied for aid$61K aid approved
- 2017Hurricane Harvey282 households applied for aid$1.4M aid approved$23K to the City of Goodrich for repairs
- 2008Hurricane Ike377 households applied for aid$258K aid approved$31K to the City of Goodrich for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Rita718 households applied for aid$701K aid approved$12K to the City of Goodrich for repairs
Polk County has had 24 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and hurricanes.
Old photos of Goodrich after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Goodrich archive →Get ready for what Goodrich actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in July–September
The month each of Polk County’s 24 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Goodrich’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Goodrich.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Goodrich.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.