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Lindale May 2018 08 (N Main Street)Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0
A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Lindale · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Lindale faces less hazard damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lindale gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, #6 of 642 in Texas. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (83%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 83%Hail 5%Hurricanes 3%

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

less than 98%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#6 of 642 in Texas
Hazard risk
A+#6 of 642
in Texas · lower than 98% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
83% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
6
of 25 declared for Smith County
By hazard

What Lindale 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

83%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 86% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hail Hurricanes Tornadoes Earthquakes Wildfire Ice storms Winter storms Strong wind Cold waves Lightning 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 cold waves at 20% of Lindale’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.3%), 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 Lindale’s grade

River and rain flooding is 83% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lindale, and Lindale’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 86% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Lindale sits
Lindale
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ #6 of 642 in Texas; lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Lindale’s residents live in 4 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding83%Hail5%Hurricanes3%Everything else10%

The typical Texas town has higher expected damage than 50% of U.S. towns; within the state, Lindale has less expected damage per building than 99% of Texas towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $961K a year in losses across Lindale: $480K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding in 2024, FEMA took 326 aid registrations from Lindale addresses (the town has 2,839 homes).
A small-area figure. Lindale covers 4 census tracts, combined by where residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Lindale flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: Smith County.
Disasters

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lindale

Disasters that paid out in Lindale itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Lindale), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding326 households applied for aid$614K aid approved
  2. 2021Severe Winter Storms151 households applied for aid$96K aid approved
  3. 2016Severe Storms and Flooding66 households applied for aid$154K aid approved$63K to the City of Lindale for repairs
  4. 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds and Flooding17 households applied for aid$10K aid approved
  5. 2008Hurricane Ike3 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
  6. 2007Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding18 households applied for aid$16K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in LindaleSmith County only

Smith County has had 25 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 Smith County, 2000–2000.

Were you here?

Old photos of Lindale after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Lindale archive →
Next door

Lindale and its neighbors

Lindale has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Hideaway: hazard risk AHideawayLindale
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
LindaleA+less damage than 98%river and rain flooding0
HideawayAless damage than 88%river and rain flooding6

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Lindale faces

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

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 ↗
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 Lindale

Is Lindale at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lindale has lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #6 of 642 in Texas. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (83%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Lindale 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 Smith County, 32% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Lindale?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lindale’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 Lindale?

By FEMA money that reached Lindale, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2024): 326 households applied for aid, $614K approved.

Is Lindale at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (83%), and Lindale’s rate for it is lower than 86% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lindale.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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