Natural hazards · Rusk

Rusk, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rusk comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1999. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rusk?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rusk to be higher than in 23% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding37%Cold waves20%Tornadoes12%Heat waves11%Strong wind10%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Rusk faces

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

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 28% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Heat waves

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about 19 times a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 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 Rusk flood?

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

2paid claims since 1999

$38Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19992026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Cherokee County.

Disasters that hit Rusk

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RuskDeclared for Cherokee County only

2021

Severe Winter Storms

167 households applied for aid $85K aid approved $33K to the City of Rusk for repairs

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

9 households applied for aid $38K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Ike

401 households applied for aid $193K aid approved $189K to the City of Rusk for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

45 households applied for aid $47K aid approved $19K to the City of Rusk for repairs

2005

Hurricane Rita

$9K to the City of Rusk for repairs

2001

Tx-Tropical Storm Allison-06-06-2001

$3K to the City of Rusk for repairs

2000

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$5K to the City of Rusk for repairs

Cherokee County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

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