Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Alvord

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Downtown Alvord, TX IMG 6807Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Billy Hathorn assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Alvord · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Alvord than in 67% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Alvord gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (59%), then wildfire (16%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 59%Wildfire 16%Tornadoes 12%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

less than 67%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in Texas · lower than 67% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
59% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
2
of 16 declared for Wise County

What stands out about Alvord’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 67% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Made safer with FEMA grants3 storm safe rooms built with FEMA grants.
By hazard

What Alvord faces

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

River and rain flooding

59%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 70% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

16%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts

Tornadoes

12%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

Hail

10%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 10 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Earthquakes Ice storms Cold waves top 2% Winter storms Lightning Hurricanes Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts heat waves at 12% of Alvord’s expected losses. Heat waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Alvord’s grade

River and rain flooding is 59% of the building damage FEMA expects in Alvord, and Alvord’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 70% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 16%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Alvord sits
Alvord
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Alvord’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding59%Wildfire16%Tornadoes12%Everything else14%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $340K a year in losses across Alvord: $228K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Severe Winter Storms in 2021, FEMA took 47 aid registrations from Alvord addresses (the town has 495 homes).
Shared tract.All of Alvord’s 1,351 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Alvord flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Alvord. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Wise County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
3storm safe rooms built
Disasters

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Alvord

Disasters that paid out in Alvord itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Alvord), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2021Severe Winter Storms47 households applied for aid$25K aid approved
  2. 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds and Flooding6 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in AlvordWise County only

Wise County has had 16 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Wise County, 2000–2000.

Were you here?

Old photos of Alvord after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Alvord archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Alvord faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Wildfire
  • Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
  • Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
  • Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
  • A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
  • Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Hail
  • Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
  • Stay away from windows while it falls.
  • Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Alvord

Is Alvord at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Alvord has lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (59%) and wildfire (16%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Alvord in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Wise County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Alvord?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Alvord’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

What was the biggest storm in Alvord?

By FEMA money that reached Alvord, Severe Winter Storms (2021): 47 households applied for aid, $25K approved.

Is Alvord at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (59%), and Alvord’s rate for it is lower than 70% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Alvord.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Alvord’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.