Natural hazards · Penelope

Penelope, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Penelope comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Penelope?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Penelope to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and tornadoes.

Cold waves44%Tornadoes20%Inland flooding16%Drought6%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Penelope faces

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

Cold waves

44% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 23% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

6% of expected damage

Recorded about 34 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce 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 Penelope flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hill County.

Disasters that hit Penelope

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PenelopeDeclared for Hill County only

2021

Severe Winter Storms

3 households applied for aid

Hill County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms 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. Penelope 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 Penelope’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Penelope. 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.