Natural hazards · Waelder

Waelder, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Waelder comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1981. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Waelder?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Waelder to be higher than in 48% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding69%Hurricanes12%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Waelder faces

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

Inland flooding

69% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Waelder flood?

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

2paid claims since 1981

$7Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19812026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Gonzales County.

Disasters that hit Waelder

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WaelderDeclared for Gonzales County only

2021

Severe Winter Storms

28 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2017

Hurricane Harvey

79 households applied for aid $51K aid approved

1998

Tx-Flooding 10/18/98

$30K to the City of Waelder for repairs

Gonzales County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and hurricanes.

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