Natural hazards · Palacios

Palacios, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Palacios comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 87 claims here since 1979. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Palacios?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Palacios to be higher than in 87% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes67%Inland flooding12%Everything else21%

By hazard

What Palacios faces

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

Hurricanes

67% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Inland flooding

12% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 13% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce 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 Palacios flood?

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

87paid claims since 1979

$775Kpaid to owners

6homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Claudette: 10 claims, $101K
Hurricane Harvey: 8 claims, $208K
Hurricane Ike: 5 claims, $31K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Palacios 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 Palacios

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PalaciosDeclared for Matagorda County only

2024

Hurricane Beryl

1,444 households applied for aid $2.6M aid approved $614K to the City of Palacios for repairs

2021

Severe Winter Storms

224 households applied for aid $197K aid approved $62K to the City of Palacios for repairs

2017

Hurricane Harvey

1,567 households applied for aid $640K aid approved $234K to the City of Palacios for repairs

2008

Hurricane Ike

32 households applied for aid $11K aid approved $32K to the City of Palacios for repairs

2005

Hurricane Rita

$11K to the City of Palacios for repairs

2003

Hurricane Claudette

904 households applied for aid $1.4M aid approved $83K to the City of Palacios for repairs

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