Natural hazards · Whitney

Whitney, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Whitney comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 10 claims here since 1995. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Whitney?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Whitney to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves37%Inland flooding29%Tornadoes22%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Whitney 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 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Whitney flood?

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

10paid claims since 1995

$77Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19952026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hill County.

Disasters that hit Whitney

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WhitneyDeclared for Hill County only

2021

Severe Winter Storms

116 households applied for aid $92K aid approved

2011

Wildfires

16 households applied for aid $196K aid approved

Hill County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and fires.

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. Whitney covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Whitney’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Whitney. 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 Whitney total about $899K 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.