Natural hazards · Matagorda

Matagorda, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Matagorda comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Matagorda?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Matagorda to be higher than in 96% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes63%Inland flooding17%Coastal flooding11%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Matagorda faces

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

Hurricanes

63% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

17% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Coastal flooding

11% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Matagorda flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Matagorda County.

Disasters that hit Matagorda

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MatagordaDeclared for Matagorda County only

2024

Hurricane Beryl

121 households applied for aid $191K aid approved

2021

Severe Winter Storms

19 households applied for aid $11K aid approved

2017

Hurricane Harvey

141 households applied for aid $50K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Ike

7 households applied for aid $11K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Claudette

193 households applied for aid $452K aid approved

Matagorda County has had 24 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes 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. Matagorda 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 Matagorda’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Matagorda. 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.