Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Monte Alto

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Monte Alto · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Monte Alto than in 77% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Monte Alto gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (66%), then river and rain flooding (28%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Hurricanes 66%River and rain flooding 28%Hail 4%

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 77%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C−
in Texas · higher than 77% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Hurricanes
66% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
9
of 26 declared for Hidalgo County
By hazard

What Monte Alto faces

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

Hurricanes

66%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

River and rain flooding

28%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 81% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hail Tornadoes Ice storms Strong wind Earthquakes Cold waves Lightning Wildfire Winter storms 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 56% of Monte Alto’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.1%), 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 Monte Alto’s grade

Hurricanes are 66% of the building damage FEMA expects in Monte Alto, and Monte Alto’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 28% (lower than 81% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Monte Alto sits
Monte Alto
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Hurricanes66%River and rain flooding28%Hail4%Everything else3%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.6M a year in losses across Monte Alto: $356K 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 and Flooding in 2019, FEMA took 183 aid registrations from Monte Alto addresses (the town has 701 homes).
Shared tract.All of Monte Alto’s 1,930 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with La Villa city (2,804 residents) and Laguna Seca CDP (232 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. 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 Monte Alto flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Monte Alto. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Hidalgo County.
Disasters

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Monte Alto

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

  1. 2025Severe Storms and Flooding24 households applied for aid$172K aid approved
  2. 2021Severe Winter Storms20 households applied for aid$17K aid approved
  3. 2019Severe Storms and Flooding183 households applied for aid$447K aid approved
  4. 2018Severe Storms and Flooding4 households applied for aid$508 aid approved
  5. 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding12 households applied for aid$10K aid approved
  6. 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds and Flooding27 households applied for aid$9K aid approved
Show all 9
  1. 2010Hurricane Alex32 households applied for aid$82K aid approved
  2. 2008Hurricane Dolly199 households applied for aid$311K aid approved
  3. 2002Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding17 households applied for aid$22K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Monte AltoHidalgo County only

Hidalgo County has had 26 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Monte Alto archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Monte Alto faces

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

Hurricane season
  • 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.
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 ↗
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 Monte Alto

Is Monte Alto at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Monte Alto has higher expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (66%) and river and rain flooding (28%). 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 Monte Alto 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 Hidalgo County, 3.7% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Monte Alto?

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

By FEMA money that reached Monte Alto, Severe Storms and Flooding (2019): 183 households applied for aid, $447K approved.

Is Monte Alto at risk from hurricanes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (66%), and Monte Alto’s rate for it is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Monte Alto.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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