Natural hazards · Longview

Longview, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Longview comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 117 claims here since 1979. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Longview?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Longview to be higher than in 38% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and inland flooding.

Tornadoes37%Inland flooding27%Cold waves10%Heat waves8%Strong wind6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Longview faces

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

Tornadoes

37% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 37% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 19 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Longview flood?

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

117paid claims since 1979

$2.2Mpaid to owners

16homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Late winter severe storms: 12 claims, $651K

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Gregg County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

22flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

1homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Longview

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LongviewDeclared for Gregg County only

2024

Hurricane Beryl

1 household applied for aid $750 aid approved

2021

Severe Winter Storms

953 households applied for aid $575K aid approved $47K to the City of Longview for repairs

2016

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

98 households applied for aid $158K aid approved $721K to the City of Longview for repairs

2011

Wildfires

2 households applied for aid $25K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Ike

232 households applied for aid $106K aid approved $291K to the City of Longview for repairs

2005

Hurricane Rita

1 household applied for aid $31K to the City of Longview for repairs

2005

Hurricane Katrina Evacuation

$522K to the City of Longview for repairs

2000

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$341K to the City of Longview for repairs

Gregg County has had 17 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. Longview covers 16 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Longview’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Longview. 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 Longview total about $28.8M 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.