Natural hazards · Willis

Willis, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Willis comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1998. 11 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Willis?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Willis to be higher than in 10% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and inland flooding.

Tornadoes38%Inland flooding23%Cold waves13%Hurricanes12%Lightning5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Willis faces

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

Tornadoes

38% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 5% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Hurricanes

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Lightning

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong wind

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 Willis flood?

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

5paid claims since 1998

$353Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19982026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Harvey: 1 claim, $225K
Tropical Storm Allison: 1 claim, $30K

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. Willis isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Montgomery County.

Disasters that hit Willis

11 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WillisDeclared for Montgomery County only

2024

Hurricane Beryl

4,445 households applied for aid $4.0M aid approved $17K to the City of Willis for repairs

2024

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding

657 households applied for aid $1.4M aid approved

2021

Severe Winter Storms

690 households applied for aid $377K aid approved

2019

Tropical Storm Imelda

23 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

2017

Hurricane Harvey

1,036 households applied for aid $813K aid approved $5K to the City of Willis for repairs

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

210 households applied for aid $249K aid approved $52K to the City of Willis for repairs

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

43 households applied for aid $56K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Ike

2,592 households applied for aid $680K aid approved $70K to the City of Willis for repairs

2005

Hurricane Rita

1,697 households applied for aid $918K aid approved $38K to the City of Willis for repairs

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

57 households applied for aid $169K aid approved

2001

Tx-Tropical Storm Allison-06-06-2001

$13K to the City of Willis for repairs

Montgomery County has had 31 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires 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. Willis 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 Willis’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Willis. 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.