Natural hazards · Sandia

Sandia, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sandia comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is 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 Sandia?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sandia to be higher than in 72% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and hurricanes.

Cold waves37%Hurricanes33%Inland flooding15%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Sandia faces

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

Cold waves

37% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

33% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Sandia flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jim Wells County.

Disasters that hit Sandia

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SandiaDeclared for Jim Wells County only

2021

Severe Winter Storms

53 households applied for aid $43K aid approved

2018

Severe Storms and Flooding

9 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

2017

Hurricane Harvey

28 households applied for aid $32K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

44 households applied for aid $66K aid approved

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

13 households applied for aid $38K aid approved

Jim Wells County has had 27 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. Sandia 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 Sandia’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Sandia. 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.