Natural hazards · Hempstead

Hempstead, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hempstead comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 11 claims here since 1998. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hempstead?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hempstead to be higher than in 12% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding32%Tornadoes29%Hurricanes11%Cold waves10%Drought6%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Hempstead 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 13% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

29% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 22 years in the area

Hurricanes

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

6% of expected damage

Recorded about 27 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Hempstead flood?

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

11paid claims since 1998

$315Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19982026

Biggest named events

Early summer severe storms: 3 claims, $91K
Tropical Storm Allison: 1 claim, $41K

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. Hempstead isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Waller County.

Disasters that hit Hempstead

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HempsteadDeclared for Waller County only

2024

Hurricane Beryl

411 households applied for aid $429K aid approved $43K to the City of Hempstead for repairs

2024

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

580 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved $67K to the City of Hempstead for repairs

2021

Severe Winter Storms

361 households applied for aid $213K aid approved

2017

Hurricane Harvey

564 households applied for aid $262K aid approved $100K to the City of Hempstead for repairs

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

198 households applied for aid $462K aid approved $156K to the City of Hempstead for repairs

2011

Wildfires

1 household applied for aid

2008

Hurricane Ike

152 households applied for aid $105K aid approved $99K to the City of Hempstead for repairs

2005

Hurricane Rita

$14K to the City of Hempstead for repairs

Waller County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and fires.

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. Hempstead 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 Hempstead’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Hempstead. 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.