Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Stafford

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
CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Stafford · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Stafford faces more hazard damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Stafford gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, #483 of 642 in Texas. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%), then hurricanes (26%). Flood insurance has paid 77 claims here since 1981.

River and rain flooding 69%Hurricanes 26%Tornadoes 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 72%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#483 of 642 in Texas
Hazard risk
C#483 of 642
in Texas · higher than 72% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
69% of expected building damage
Flood claims
77
paid since 1981 · $1.8M
Flooded more than once
12
properties
Disasters paid out here
11
of 21 declared for Fort Bend County
By hazard

What Stafford 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

69%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

26%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 6 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Hail Lightning Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms 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 tornadoes at 12% of Stafford’s expected losses. Tornadoes do little damage to buildings (3.7%), 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 Stafford’s grade

River and rain flooding is 69% of the building damage FEMA expects in Stafford, and Stafford’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 26% (higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Stafford sits
Stafford
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C #483 of 642 in Texas; higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Stafford’s residents live in 9 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding69%Hurricanes26%Tornadoes4%Everything else1%

The typical Texas town has higher expected damage than 50% of U.S. towns; within the state, Stafford has more expected damage per building than 75% of Texas towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $11.8M a year in losses across Stafford: $9.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Hurricane Beryl in 2024, FEMA took 5,453 aid registrations from Stafford addresses (the town has 7,099 homes).
A firm figure. It combines 9 census tracts by where Stafford’s 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 Stafford flood? Sometimes: 77 flood claims since 1981

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Stafford, from FEMA’s records: 10.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 75% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1981: 1 claim1982: 0 claims1983: 6 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 1 claim1986: 0 claims1987: 3 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 2 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 1 claim1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 1 claim1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 12 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 2 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 2 claims2006: 1 claim2007: 0 claims2008: 3 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 1 claim2011: 0 claims2012: 2 claims2013: 7 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 6 claims2016: 1 claim2017: 24 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 1 claim2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200120132017
19812026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Harvey23 claims · $1.1M
  • Tropical Storm Allison12 claims · $129K
  • The Early summer storms6 claims · $136K
77
paid claims since 1981
$1.8M
paid to owners
12
homes flooded more than once
$24K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Fort Bend County.
Disasters

11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Stafford

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

  1. 2024Hurricane Beryl5,453 households applied for aid$3.9M aid approved$319K to the City of Stafford for repairs
  2. 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding28 households applied for aid$9K aid approved
  3. 2021Severe Winter Storms858 households applied for aid$265K aid approved$66K to the City of Stafford for repairs
  4. 2020Tropical Storms Marco and Laura$5K to the City of Stafford for repairs
  5. 2017Hurricane Harvey2,784 households applied for aid$985K aid approved$772K to the City of Stafford for repairs23 flood claims paid for it, $1.1M
  6. 2016Severe Storms and Flooding51 households applied for aid$51K aid approved1 flood claim paid that year
Show all 11
  1. 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds and Flooding122 households applied for aid$345K aid approved6 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2008Hurricane Ike2,084 households applied for aid$378K aid approved$265K to the City of Stafford for repairs2 flood claims paid for it, $18K
  3. 2005Hurricane Rita316 households applied for aid$101K aid approved$43K to the City of Stafford for repairs
  4. 2005Hurricane Rita$15K to the City of Stafford for repairs
  5. 2002Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding3 households applied for aid$10K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in StaffordFort Bend County only

Fort Bend County has had 21 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods. 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 Fort Bend County, 2006–2006.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Stafford archive →
Next door

Stafford and its neighbors

Stafford is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Sugar Land: hazard risk C+Fifth Street: hazard risk C+Missouri City: hazard risk C−Meadows Place: hazard risk DSugar LandFifth StreetMissouri CityMeadows PlaceStafford
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Sugar LandC+more damage than 56%river and rain flooding241
Fifth StreetC+more damage than 58%river and rain flooding16
StaffordCmore damage than 72%river and rain flooding77
Missouri CityC−more damage than 76%river and rain flooding558
Meadows PlaceDmore damage than 94%river and rain flooding36

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 Stafford 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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Stafford

Is Stafford at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Stafford has higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #483 of 642 in Texas. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%) and hurricanes (26%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Stafford flood?

Flood insurance has paid 77 claims in Stafford since 1981, $1.8M in all, or 10.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 75% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 12 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Harvey (23).

Is Stafford 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 Fort Bend County, 42% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 15.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Stafford?

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

By FEMA money that reached Stafford, Hurricane Beryl (2024): 5,453 households applied for aid, $3.9M approved, and $319K to the City of Stafford for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Harvey: 23 paid, $1.1M.

Is Stafford at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (69%), and Stafford’s rate for it is higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Stafford.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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