Less hazard damage per building is expected in Falcon Lake Estates than in 69% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Falcon Lake Estates gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). 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 Falcon Lake Estates 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
Hurricanes
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 Falcon Lake Estates’ grade
River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Falcon Lake Estates, and Falcon Lake Estates’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 7% (higher than 71% of U.S. census tracts).
B+ lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Falcon Lake Estates’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $370K a year in losses across Falcon Lake Estates: $111K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Falcon Lake Estates flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Falcon Lake Estates. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Falcon Lake Estates 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.The storms Falcon Lake Estates remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Zapata County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Falcon Lake Estates itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Zapata County has had 8 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Zapata County, 2008–2008.
Falcon Lake Estates and its neighbors
Falcon Lake Estates is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zapata | A+less damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Siesta Shores | B+less damage than 69% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Falcon Lake Estates | B+less damage than 69% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Falcon Mesa | — | 426 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Falcon Lake Estates 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.
- 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.
- 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 Falcon Lake Estates
Is Falcon Lake Estates at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Falcon Lake Estates has lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%) and hurricanes (7%). 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 Falcon Lake Estates 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 Zapata County, 4% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Falcon Lake Estates?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Falcon Lake Estates’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Falcon Lake Estates at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Falcon Lake Estates’ rate for it is higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Falcon Lake Estates.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Falcon Lake Estates’ 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.