Natural hazards · Waskom

Waskom, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Waskom comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Waskom?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Waskom to be higher than in 28% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and inland flooding.

Tornadoes27%Inland flooding23%Cold waves18%Heat waves10%Ice storms9%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Waskom faces

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

Tornadoes

27% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 28 years in the area

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 12% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

18% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Ice storms

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Waskom flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Harrison County.

Disasters that hit Waskom

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WaskomDeclared for Harrison County only

2021

Severe Winter Storms

106 households applied for aid $62K aid approved $8K to the City of Waskom for repairs

2016

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $7K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

2011

Wildfires

5 households applied for aid $30K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Ike

17 households applied for aid $751 aid approved

2000

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$13K to the City of Waskom for repairs

Harrison County has had 21 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. Waskom 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 Waskom’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Waskom. 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.