Photo: Nicolas Henderson from Coppell, Texas · CC BY 2.0For hail, Merkel’s building-damage rate is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Merkel gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hail (59%), then river and rain flooding (33%). 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 stands out about Merkel’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Merkel faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hail
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 Merkel’s grade
Hail is 59% of the building damage FEMA expects in Merkel, and Merkel’s rate of hail damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Cold waves add 1%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Merkel’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $819K a year in losses across Merkel: $648K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Merkel flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Merkel. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Merkel isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Taylor County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Merkel
Disasters that paid out in Merkel itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Merkel), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Severe Winter Storms39 households applied for aid$33K aid approved
- 2007Tropical Storm Erin64 households applied for aid$136K aid approved
- 2007Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding7 households applied for aid$24K aid approved
Taylor County has had 14 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.
Also 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Taylor County, 2009–2022.
Old photos of Merkel after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Merkel archive →Get ready for what Merkel faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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 Merkel
Is Merkel at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Merkel has lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hail (59%) and river and rain flooding (33%). 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 Merkel 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 Taylor County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Merkel?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Merkel’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 Merkel?
By FEMA money that reached Merkel, Tropical Storm Erin (2007): 64 households applied for aid, $136K approved.
Is Merkel at risk from hail?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (59%), and Merkel’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Merkel.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Merkel’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.