Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Chireno
Chireno isn’t graded for hazard risk: Chireno has 589 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Chireno 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
Strong wind
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 Chireno flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Chireno. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Chireno isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Nacogdoches County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Chireno
Disasters that paid out in Chireno itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Chireno), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Beryl28 households applied for aid$43K aid approved
- 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding8 households applied for aid$20K aid approved
- 2021Severe Winter Storms34 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
- 2008Hurricane Ike31 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Rita210 households applied for aid$124K aid approved
Nacogdoches County has had 19 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Nacogdoches County, 2000–2006.
Old photos of Chireno after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Chireno archive →Get ready for what Chireno 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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 Chireno
Is Chireno 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 Nacogdoches County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Chireno?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Chireno’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 Chireno?
By FEMA money that reached Chireno, Hurricane Rita (2005): 210 households applied for aid, $124K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Chireno.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Chireno’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.