Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Buckholts
Buckholts isn’t graded for hazard risk: Buckholts has 374 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Buckholts 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
Tornadoes
Hurricanes
Hail
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.
Does Buckholts flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Buckholts. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Buckholts isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Milam County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Buckholts
Disasters that paid out in Buckholts itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Buckholts), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Severe Winter Storms13 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding$19K to the Town of Buckholts for repairs
- 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds and Flooding8 households applied for aid$750 to the Town of Buckholts for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding12 households applied for aid$3K aid approved$76K to the Town of Buckholts for repairs
Milam 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 Milam County, 1998–1998.
Old photos of Buckholts after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Buckholts archive →Get ready for what Buckholts faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Buckholts
Is Buckholts 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 Milam County, 0.4% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Buckholts?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Buckholts’ 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 Buckholts?
By FEMA money that reached Buckholts, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2007): 12 households applied for aid, $3K approved, and $76K to the Town of Buckholts for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Buckholts.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Buckholts’ 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.