Natural hazards · Sylvester

Sylvester, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sylvester comes from drought, and overall the risk is high 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 Sylvester?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sylvester to be higher than in 61% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought37%Inland flooding27%Hail16%Tornadoes6%Strong wind5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Sylvester faces

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

Drought

37% of expected damage

Recorded about 76 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Sylvester flood?

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

Disasters that hit Sylvester

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SylvesterDeclared for Fisher County only

2005

Hurricane Rita

1 household applied for aid $2K aid approved

Fisher County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires 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. Sylvester 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 Sylvester’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Sylvester. 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.