Natural hazards · Iola

Iola, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Iola comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Iola?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Iola to be higher than in 34% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and cold waves.

Hurricanes26%Cold waves24%Tornadoes19%Inland flooding19%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Iola faces

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

Hurricanes

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Cold waves

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

19% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Inland flooding

19% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 9% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Iola flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Grimes County.

Disasters that hit Iola

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into IolaDeclared for Grimes County only

2021

Severe Winter Storms

37 households applied for aid $17K aid approved

2017

Hurricane Harvey

17 households applied for aid $25K aid approved

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

18 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Ike

39 households applied for aid $73K aid approved

Grimes County has had 23 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. Iola 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 Iola’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Iola. 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.