States › Texas › Rusk County

Rusk 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 48401 · 52,743 residents (2021) · 924 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 247Tornado · 71Flood · 62Wind · 405Winter · 27

Rusk 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.

Rusk County, Texas, has 971 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 105.1 events per 100 square miles, above the Texas figure of 63.3, and 184.1 per 10,000 residents against 56.0 statewide.

29 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 5 deaths and 17 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $18M.

FEMA has designated the county in 27 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Hurricane Beryl (major disaster, 9 Jul 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 62 claims since 1978, of which 40 were paid, totalling $383K (about $10K per paid claim). FEMA counts 57 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($15M a year across 18 hazards).

19 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

29events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

971events since 19505 deaths, 17 injuries recorded

27disaster declarationslast 9 Jul 2024

62NFIP flood claims$383K paid

Compared with Texas and the United States

Measure	Rusk County	Texas	US
Recorded events since 1950	971	165,476	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	105.1	63.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	184.1	56.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	29	4,723	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	5	2,429	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$18M	$111B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.2	13.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$10K	$55K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	10.5	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: 4Wind: 2

Hail: 1Tornado: 7Wind: 3

Hail: 7Tornado: 7Wind: 6

Hail: 44Tornado: 3Wind: 21

Hail: 78Tornado: 8Flood: 5Wind: 74Winter: 3Drought: 3Fog: 1Other: 1

Hail: 30Tornado: 8Flood: 8Wind: 44Winter: 3Tropical: 1Drought: 1Lightning: 1

Hail: 38Tornado: 23Flood: 36Wind: 128Winter: 14Heat: 25Cold: 2Drought: 26Wildfire: 6Lightning: 8Other: 1

Hail: 48Tornado: 11Flood: 13Wind: 127Winter: 7Tropical: 1Heat: 57Cold: 4Drought: 19Lightning: 2

71950s111960s201970s681980s1731990s962000s3072010s2892020s

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

Trend: 626 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 258 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

Wind405

Hail247

Heat82

Tornado71

Flood62

Drought49

Winter27

Lightning11

Cold6

Wildfire6

Tropical2

Other2

Fog1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	405	4	0.9%	detail
■ Hail	247	—	0.4%	detail
■ Heat	82	—	1.2%
■ Tornado	71	—	0.7%	detail
■ Flood	62	—	0.4%	detail
■ Drought	49	—	0.3%
■ Winter	27	1	0.3%	detail
■ Lightning	11	—	1.1%
■ Cold	6	—	0.3%
■ Wildfire	6	—	0.4%
■ Tropical	2	—	0.3%
■ Other	2	—	0.1%
■ Fog	1	—	0.4%

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
5 Nov 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	$50K	—	1	2	County
28 Jun 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	64 mph	$10K	—	1	—	County
12 Apr 1986	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	1	—	County
12 Apr 1986	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	85 mph	—	—	1	—	County
16 Feb 2021	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
6 Apr 2003	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.3M	—	—	6	County
29 Apr 1958	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	4	County
27 Jan 1974	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	1	County
25 Jan 2012	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$100K	—	—	1	County
5 May 2022	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$100K	—	—	1	County
5 Aug 2020	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
21 May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	—	—	—	1	County
6 Apr 2003	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$9.0M	—	—	—	County
21 Mar 2022	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$1.0M	—	—	—	County
18 Mar 2008	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$500K	—	—	—	County
11 May 2017	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$500K	—	—	—	County
13 Sep 2008	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$400K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
12 Mar 2001	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$300K	—	—	—	County
22 Nov 1961	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	—	—	County
26 Apr 1991	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	—	County

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
9 Jul 2024	DR-4798	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Beryl	Public assistance
17 May 2024	DR-4781	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, 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
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
29 May 2015	DR-4223	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Sep 2011	DR-4029	Major disaster	Fire	Wildfires	Individual assistance, Public assistance
1 Jul 2011	DR-1999	Major disaster	Fire	Wildfires	Public assistance
13 Sep 2008	DR-1791	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ike	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Mar 2008	EM-3284	Emergency	Fire	Wildfires	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
8 Jan 2001	DR-1356	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Ice Storm	Public assistance
1 Sep 1999	EM-3142	Emergency	Fire	Extreme Fire Hazards	Public assistance
26 Aug 1998	DR-1239	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Tropical Storm Charley	—
23 Feb 1996	EM-3117	Emergency	Fire	Extreme Fire Hazard	Public assistance
26 Dec 1991	DR-930	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Thunderstorms	Individual assistance, Public assistance
19 May 1989	DR-828	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Apr 1989	DR-823	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 May 1987	DR-793	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms & Tornadoes	Individual assistance
12 May 1966	DR-218	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
19 Jun 1965	DR-199	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes & Flooding	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 Rusk County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197862

Paid claims40

Total paid$383K

Average paid claim$10K

Repetitive-loss properties81 severe

Residential policies in force570.3% of 18,036 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2024	2	1	$3,118	$3,118
2023	1	0	$0	—
2021	1	0	$0	—
2018	1	0	$0	—
2017	1	0	$0	—
2016	4	4	$80,426	$20,106
2015	2	1	$833	$833
2013	1	0	$0	—
2009	1	1	$1,063	$1,063
2008	3	3	$26,996	$8,999
2007	1	1	$31,265	$31,265
2003	2	0	$0	—
2002	1	1	$13,871	$13,871
2001	2	2	$11,098	$5,549
2000	2	2	$17,507	$8,754
1999	2	2	$7,258	$3,629
1998	2	1	$8,466	$8,466
1997	2	2	$11,207	$5,604
1994	1	1	$37,879	$37,879
1993	7	5	$52,315	$10,463
1990	6	3	$12,593	$4,198
1989	9	6	$40,893	$6,815
1985	3	2	$11,280	$5,640
1983	2	0	$0	—
1981	2	1	$3,866	$3,866

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 Lowscore 54.0 of 100

Expected annual loss$15MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceVery Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$4,912,330
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$2,577,841
Strong wind	Relatively High	$2,253,247
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$1,570,094
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$1,379,078
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$582,177
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$450,247
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$345,641
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$287,330
Wildfire	Relatively Low	$182,060
Earthquake	Very Low	$167,654
Hail	Relatively Low	$141,789
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$82,225
Landslide	Very Low	$1,052

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 miles19

Tracks within 50 miles7

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Barry	2019	69 mi	40 mph
Cindy	2017	66 mi	40 mph
Ike	2008	43 mi	58 mph
Rita	2005	52 mi	52 mph
Bonnie	1986	84 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	35 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1947	48 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1941	43 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1940	26 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1918	11 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	84 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1891	30 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	94 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1886	75 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1882	85 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1879	57 mi	81 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1871	79 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1871	59 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1865	82 mi	58 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

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 Rusk County, TX?

NCEI records 247 hail events in Rusk County since 1950, in 49 different years; that is about 3.2 recorded events a year. 71 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Rusk County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 71 tornadoes in Rusk County since 1950, 21 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Rusk County?

9 Jul 2024: Hurricane Beryl, a major disaster declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 27 declarations since 1953.

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

62 NFIP claims since 1978, 40 of them paid, for $383K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Rusk County compare with the rest of Texas?

105.1 recorded events per 100 square miles against 63.3 statewide, and 1.2 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.