For tornadoes, The Homesteads’s building-damage rate is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, The Homesteads gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns, #331 of 642 in Texas. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (70%), then tornadoes (19%). 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 The Homesteads 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
Tornadoes
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 The Homesteads’ grade
River and rain flooding is 70% of the building damage FEMA expects in The Homesteads, and The Homesteads’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 19%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
B− #331 of 642 in Texas; higher expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of The Homesteads’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Texas town has higher expected damage than 50% of U.S. towns; within the state, The Homesteads has more expected damage per building than 51% of Texas towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across The Homesteads: $463K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does The Homesteads flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in The Homesteads. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
The Homesteads isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Johnson County.The storms The Homesteads remembers
None of the 11 disasters declared for Johnson County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching The Homesteads itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Johnson County has had 11 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Johnson County, 2000–2006.
Get ready for what The Homesteads faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 The Homesteads
Is The Homesteads at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, The Homesteads has higher expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #331 of 642 in Texas. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (70%) and tornadoes (19%). 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 The Homesteads 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 Johnson County, 24% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in The Homesteads?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for The Homesteads’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is The Homesteads at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (70%), and The Homesteads’ rate for it is higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in The Homesteads.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where The Homesteads’ 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.