Natural hazards · Zapata

Zapata, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Zapata comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Zapata?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Zapata to be higher than in 3% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves72%Inland flooding18%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Zapata faces

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

Cold waves

72% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 10% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce 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 Zapata flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Zapata County.

Disasters that hit Zapata

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ZapataDeclared for Zapata County only

2010

Hurricane Alex

28 households applied for aid $21K aid approved

Zapata County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and fires.

Around Zapata

Zapata and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Falcon Lake Estatesmostly cold wavesLow

Medinamostly cold wavesVery low

Falcon Mesamostly cold wavesVery low

Zapatamostly cold wavesVery low

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. Zapata covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Zapata’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Zapata. 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 Zapata total about $1.2M 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.