Photo: Djmaschek · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Sargent than almost anywhere in the U.S., mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sargent gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (52%), then river and rain flooding (35%). 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 Sargent faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
Coastal 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 Sargent’s grade
Hurricanes are 52% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sargent, and Sargent’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. River and rain flooding adds 35%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Sargent’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.9M a year in losses across Sargent: $1.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Sargent flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Sargent. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Sargent isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Matagorda County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Sargent
Disasters that paid out in Sargent itself (aid to households or repair grants to Sargent), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Beryl284 households applied for aid$1.1M aid approved
- 2021Severe Winter Storms12 households applied for aid$6K aid approved
- 2017Hurricane Harvey191 households applied for aid$125K aid approved
- 2008Hurricane Ike86 households applied for aid$65K aid approved
- 2003Hurricane Claudette79 households applied for aid$164K aid approved
Matagorda County has had 23 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.
Old photos of Sargent after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Sargent archive →Get ready for what Sargent faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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 Sargent
Is Sargent at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sargent has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (52%) and river and rain flooding (35%). 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 Sargent 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 Matagorda County, 33% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 15.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Sargent?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Sargent’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 Sargent?
By FEMA money that reached Sargent, Hurricane Beryl (2024): 284 households applied for aid, $1.1M approved.
Is Sargent at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (52%), and Sargent’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sargent.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Sargent’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.