Natural hazards · Victoria

Victoria, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Victoria comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 381 claims here since 1978. 10 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Victoria?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Victoria to be higher than in 75% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes49%Inland flooding21%Cold waves14%Tornadoes10%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Victoria faces

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

Hurricanes

49% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Inland flooding

21% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 29% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce 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 Victoria flood?

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

381paid claims since 1978

$6.8Mpaid to owners

38homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Harvey: 36 claims, $1.2M
Torrential rain: 9 claims, $213K
Thunderstorms: 4 claims, $517K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (8) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Victoria County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

15flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

3storm safe rooms built

2buildings retrofitted against wind

1buildings floodproofed

Disasters that hit Victoria

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into VictoriaDeclared for Victoria County only

2024

Hurricane Beryl

$38K to the City of Victoria for repairs

2021

Severe Winter Storms

1,492 households applied for aid $463K aid approved

2017

Hurricane Harvey

17,983 households applied for aid $11.5M aid approved $8.6M to the City of Victoria for repairs

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

$70K to the City of Victoria for repairs

2008

Hurricane Ike

$31K to the City of Victoria for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

100 households applied for aid $140K aid approved $10K to the City of Victoria for repairs

2005

Hurricane Rita

$40K to the City of Victoria for repairs

2005

Hurricane Katrina Evacuation

$248K to the City of Victoria for repairs

2003

Hurricane Claudette

3,686 households applied for aid $3.6M aid approved $1.6M to the City of Victoria for repairs

1998

Tx-Flooding 10/18/98

$1.2M to the City of Victoria for repairs

Victoria County has had 24 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. Victoria covers 15 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Victoria’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Victoria. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Victoria total about $30.7M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.