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Hale Center Texas grain elevator 2011Photo: Leaflet · CC BY-SA 3.0
DHazard risk
Natural hazards in Hale Center · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Hale Center than in 88% of U.S. towns, mostly from hail

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hale Center gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hail (70%), then river and rain flooding (16%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Hail 70%River and rain flooding 16%Tornadoes 7%

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

more than 88%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D
in Texas · higher than 88% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Hail
70% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 10 declared for Hale County
By hazard

What Hale Center faces

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

Hail

70%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

River and rain flooding

16%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 93% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

7%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 6 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind top 4% Wildfire Winter storms top 2% Ice storms Earthquakes Lightning Hurricanes Cold waves 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 drought at 10% of Hale Center’s expected losses. Drought does 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 Hale Center’s grade

Hail is 70% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hale Center, and Hale Center’s rate of hail damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 4%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Hale Center sits
Hale Center
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Hail70%River and rain flooding16%Tornadoes7%Everything else8%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.6M a year in losses across Hale Center: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Hale Center’s 2,062 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 Hale Center flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Hale Center. 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

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

Insurance rates: Hale County.
Disasters

The storms Hale Center remembers

None of the 10 disasters declared for Hale County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Hale Center itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Hale CenterHale County only

Hale County has had 10 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Be ready

Get ready for what Hale Center faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Hale Center

Is Hale Center at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hale Center has higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hail (70%) and river and rain flooding (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 Hale Center 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 Hale County, 7% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Hale Center?

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

Is Hale Center at risk from hail?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (70%), and Hale Center’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hale Center.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hale Center’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.