Relampago’s biggest natural hazard is cold waves
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Relampago comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Relampago’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
What Relampago faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Cold waves
Hurricanes
Inland flooding
Drought
Does Relampago flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Relampago. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Relampago isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hidalgo County.How exposed is Relampago?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and hurricanes.
Rated higher than 1,266 of the 1,859 Texas towns we cover.
Relampago is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Relampago
Disasters that paid out in Relampago itself (aid to households or repair grants to Relampago) and its biggest flood years.
- 2002Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding1 household applied for aid$253 aid approved
Hidalgo County has had 27 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.
Old photos of Relampago after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Relampago archive →Get ready for what Relampago actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in July–September
The month each of Hidalgo County’s 27 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Relampago’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Relampago.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Relampago.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.