Less hazard damage per building is expected in Elm Creek than in 84% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Elm Creek gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns, #80 of 642 in Texas. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What Elm Creek 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
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.
What’s behind Elm Creek’s grade
River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Elm Creek, and Elm Creek’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts.
A− #80 of 642 in Texas; lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Elm Creek’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Texas town has higher expected damage than 50% of U.S. towns; within the state, Elm Creek has less expected damage per building than 88% of Texas towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Elm Creek: $457K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Elm Creek flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Elm Creek. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Elm Creek isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Maverick County.The storms Elm Creek remembers
None of the 11 disasters declared for Maverick County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Elm Creek itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Maverick County has had 11 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Get ready for what Elm Creek 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.
- 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 Elm Creek
Is Elm Creek at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Elm Creek has lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #80 of 642 in Texas. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). 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 Elm Creek 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 Maverick County, 12% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Elm Creek?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Elm Creek’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Elm Creek at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Elm Creek’s rate for it is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Elm Creek.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Elm Creek’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.