States › Texas › Cameron County

Cameron County, Texas

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 48061 · 423,029 residents (2021) · 892 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 103Tornado · 68Flood · 144Wind · 236Winter · 9

Cameron County within Texas. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 874 events for Cameron County, Texas, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 98.0 events per 100 square miles, above the Texas figure of 63.3, and 20.7 per 10,000 residents against 56.0 statewide.

33 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 3 deaths and 22 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $830M and crop damage at $223M.

FEMA has designated the county in 34 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms And Flooding (major disaster, 21 May 2025).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 7,061 claims since 1978, of which 5,193 were paid, totalling $185M (about $36K per paid claim). FEMA counts 12,201 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively High" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Moderate" ($165M a year across 18 hazards).

53 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 15 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

33events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

874events since 19503 deaths, 22 injuries recorded

34disaster declarationslast 21 May 2025

7,061NFIP flood claims$185M paid

Compared with Texas and the United States

Measure	Cameron County	Texas	US
Recorded events since 1950	874	165,476	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	98.0	63.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	20.7	56.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	33	4,723	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	3	2,429	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$830M	$111B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	16.7	13.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$36K	$55K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	19.4	24.7	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Hail: 1Tornado: 2

Hail: 11Tornado: 8Wind: 13

Hail: 11Tornado: 12Wind: 6

Hail: 6Tornado: 8Wind: 29

Hail: 12Tornado: 12Flood: 6Wind: 20Tropical: 1Cold: 2Drought: 1Other: 1

Hail: 18Tornado: 12Flood: 52Wind: 43Winter: 2Tropical: 2Heat: 5Cold: 1Drought: 50Other: 13

Hail: 23Tornado: 8Flood: 24Wind: 45Winter: 4Tropical: 2Cold: 14Drought: 65Lightning: 3Other: 27

Hail: 21Tornado: 6Flood: 62Wind: 80Winter: 3Tropical: 1Heat: 65Cold: 21Drought: 35Lightning: 3Other: 2

31950s321960s291970s431980s551990s1982000s2152010s2992020s

Recorded events in Cameron County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 581 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 172 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind236

Drought151

Flood144

Hail103

Heat70

Tornado68

Other43

Cold38

Winter9

Tropical6

Lightning6

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	236	—	0.5%	detail
■ Drought	151	—	0.8%
■ Flood	144	—	0.9%	detail
■ Hail	103	—	0.2%	detail
■ Heat	70	2	1.1%
■ Tornado	68	1	0.7%	detail
■ Other	43	—	2.3%
■ Cold	38	—	1.6%
■ Winter	9	—	0.1%
■ Tropical	6	—	1.0%
■ Lightning	6	—	0.6%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
13 May 2023	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$500K	—	1	11	County
12 Jun 2009	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
25 Jun 2023	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
23 Jul 2008	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$420M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
25 Jul 2020	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$102M	$26M	—	—	Forecast zone
27 Mar 2025	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$105M	—	—	—	County
8 Apr 2003	Hail	Hail	2.75 in	$50M	—	—	5	County
14 Feb 2021	Frost/Freeze	Cold	—	$33K	$46M	—	—	Forecast zone
25 Jul 2020	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$13M	$27M	—	—	County
24 Jul 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$43K	$38M	—	—	County
23 Jul 2008	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$43K	$38M	—	—	County
20 Jun 2018	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$35M	—	—	—	County
24 Jun 2019	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$30M	$5.0M	—	—	County
9 May 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$500K	—	—	3	County
18 Aug 2009	Drought	Drought	—	—	$21M	—	—	Forecast zone
17 Jan 1996	High Wind	Wind	—	—	—	—	2	Forecast zone
20 Jun 2018	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$20M	—	—	—	County
14 May 1992	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	1	County
6 Sep 2010	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$10M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Jan 2001	Drought	Drought	—	—	$9.9M	—	—	Forecast zone

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
21 May 2025	DR-4871	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
9 Jul 2024	DR-4798	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Beryl	Public assistance
19 Feb 2021	DR-4586	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Feb 2021	EM-3554	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
24 Aug 2020	EM-3540	Emergency	Hurricane	Tropical Storms Marco And Laura	Public assistance
26 Jul 2020	EM-3530	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Hanna	Public assistance
25 Mar 2020	DR-4485	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3458	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
17 Jul 2019	DR-4454	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
6 Jul 2018	DR-4377	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
25 Nov 2015	DR-4245	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Individual assistance
3 Aug 2010	DR-1931	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Alex	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 Jun 2010	EM-3313	Emergency	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Alex	Public assistance
10 Sep 2008	EM-3294	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Ike	Public assistance
29 Aug 2008	EM-3290	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Gustav	Public assistance
24 Jul 2008	DR-1780	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Dolly	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Mar 2008	EM-3284	Emergency	Fire	Wildfires	Public assistance
18 Aug 2007	EM-3277	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Dean	Public assistance
11 Jan 2006	DR-1624	Major disaster	Fire	Extreme Wildfire Threat	Public assistance
24 Sep 2005	DR-1606	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Rita	Public assistance
21 Sep 2005	EM-3261	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Rita	Public assistance
2 Sep 2005	EM-3216	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
1 Feb 2003	EM-3171	Emergency	Other	Loss Of The Space Shuttle Columbia	Public assistance
5 Nov 2002	DR-1439	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding	Individual assistance
22 Aug 1999	DR-1287	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Bret	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 Aug 1998	DR-1239	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Tropical Storm Charley	—
12 Apr 1991	DR-900	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Jan 1990	DR-850	Major disaster	Freezing	Severe Freeze	Individual assistance
5 Oct 1988	DR-816	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Gilbert	Individual assistance
2 Oct 1984	DR-726	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
7 Jan 1984	DR-696	Major disaster	Freezing	Severe Freezing Weather	Individual assistance
11 Aug 1980	DR-627	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Allen	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Sep 1971	DR-313	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains, High Winds & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Sep 1967	DR-232	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Beulah	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Cameron County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19787,061

Paid claims5,193

Total paid$185M

Average paid claim$36K

Repetitive-loss properties57861 severe

Residential policies in force12,2019.7% of 125,340 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	7	1	$13,681	$13,681
2025	1,159	1,087	$88,950,651	$81,831
2024	25	14	$179,938	$12,853
2023	4	1	$903	$903
2022	7	1	$21,749	$21,749
2021	137	96	$3,569,978	$37,187
2020	169	100	$2,008,997	$20,090
2019	700	625	$36,823,402	$58,917
2018	142	117	$3,925,464	$33,551
2017	17	1	$3,098	$3,098
2016	8	3	$37,099	$12,366
2015	95	68	$1,613,278	$23,725
2014	17	7	$374,471	$53,496
2013	9	3	$48,720	$16,240
2012	8	5	$57,179	$11,436
2011	3	0	$0	—
2010	87	54	$1,379,141	$25,540
2009	13	3	$38,139	$12,713
2008	1,599	1,029	$22,699,753	$22,060
2007	92	75	$1,120,983	$14,946
2006	3	2	$50,529	$25,264
2005	10	5	$118,873	$23,775
2004	69	47	$1,010,615	$21,502
2003	139	118	$2,112,899	$17,906
2002	51	38	$588,715	$15,493

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Highscore 97.3 of 100

Expected annual loss$165MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceVery Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Hurricane	Very High	$84,054,211
Cold wave	Very High	$32,612,679
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$32,362,901
Heat wave	Relatively High	$6,131,167
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$3,188,482
Hail	Relatively High	$2,344,783
Strong wind	Relatively High	$1,077,757
Ice storm	Relatively High	$915,712
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$678,017
Coastal flooding	Relatively Moderate	$547,393
Lightning	Relatively High	$490,594
Wildfire	Relatively Low	$379,436
Winter weather	Relatively High	$177,317
Earthquake	Very Low	$169,877
Landslide	Very Low	$330

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles53

Tracks within 50 miles26

Hurricane strength within 50 miles15

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Harold	2023	69 mi	58 mph
Nicholas	2021	50 mi	63 mph
Hanna	2020	41 mi	92 mph
Don	2011	72 mi	40 mph
Hermine	2010	15 mi	69 mph
Dolly	2008	21 mi	98 mph
Emily	2005	90 mi	127 mph
Erika	2003	56 mi	75 mph
Bret	1999	54 mi	144 mph
Arlene	1993	50 mi	40 mph
Barry	1983	49 mi	81 mph
Allen	1980	17 mi	144 mph
Amelia	1978	21 mi	52 mph
Caroline	1975	96 mi	63 mph
Fern	1971	89 mi	52 mph
Edith	1971	70 mi	75 mph
Candy	1968	58 mi	58 mph
Beulah	1967	22 mi	144 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1960	27 mi	58 mph
Alma	1958	52 mi	63 mph
Ella	1958	98 mi	58 mph
Gerda	1958	46 mi	40 mph
Alice	1954	52 mi	109 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1947	36 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	61 mi	115 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

78550 1,807
78597 1,135
78552 1,121
78578 589
78521 526
78586 520
78520 342
78559 336
78593 161
78526 126
78583 113
78566 82
78535 36
78575 26
78551 13
78523 10
78553 9
78522 5
78568 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Cameron County, TX?

NCEI records 103 hail events in Cameron County since 1950, in 35 different years; that is about 1.3 recorded events a year. 47 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Cameron County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 68 tornadoes in Cameron County since 1950, 5 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 1.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Cameron County?

21 May 2025: Severe Storms And Flooding, a major disaster declaration for flood. The county appears in 34 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Cameron County, and how much was paid?

7,061 NFIP claims since 1978, 5,193 of them paid, for $185M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Cameron County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively High" for overall risk, "Relatively Moderate" for expected annual loss, "Very High" for social vulnerability and "Very Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Cameron County compare with the rest of Texas?

98.0 recorded events per 100 square miles against 63.3 statewide, and 16.7 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 13.4. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.