Natural disaster risk in Stephens County, Texas

Texas · population 9,089 · FIPS 48429

Overall: very low risk

Stephens County has a composite risk score of 9.2 out of 100 — higher than 9% of US counties. It ranks 217 of 254 in Texas (1 = highest risk). Its highest-rated hazards are wildfire, hail, drought.

Drought now: Yes: D2 Severe Drought, 4 weeks

Yes. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, 80.06% of Stephens County is in D2 Severe Drought. Some of it has been at D2 or worse for 4 weeks in a row. In all, 100% of the county is in drought (D1 to D4).

Drought in Stephens County: the last 52 weeks · droughtmonitor.unl.edu

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.

Risk, loss, vulnerability and resilience

MeasureRating and score
Overall risk
Expected annual loss, adjusted for social vulnerability and community resilience.
Very low 9.2
Expected annual loss
About $4.6 million a year, on average, across all 18 hazards.
Very low 11.3
Social vulnerability
Higher means people may find it harder to prepare and recover.
Relatively low 36.1
Community resilience
Higher means a stronger ability to prepare, adapt and recover.
Very low 18.6

Risk by hazard

FEMA's risk rating for each of 18 natural hazards in Stephens County, highest first. "Not applicable" means the hazard is not modelled here.

HazardRisk rating and score
Wildfire Relatively low 76
Hail Relatively low 58
Drought Relatively low 48
Tornado Relatively low 34
Cold wave Relatively low 27
Strong wind Relatively low 25
Landslide Very low 54
Heat wave Very low 38
Hurricane Very low 26
Inland (riverine) flooding Very low 18
Ice storm Very low 16
Earthquake Very low 10
Lightning Very low 5
Winter weather Very low 4
Avalanche Not applicable
Coastal flooding Not applicable
Tsunami Not applicable
Volcanic activity Not applicable

FEMA disaster declarations for Stephens County

Federal declarations that designated Stephens County, since 1 Jan 2024 (the period this site keeps from OpenFEMA). Older declarations are in FEMA's own dataset.

Not since 1 Jan 2024: no FEMA disaster declaration in the records this site read names Stephens County.

All FEMA declarations in Texas, with estimated apply-by dates · Open FEMA deadlines

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s). Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2.

How to read these ratings

  • Ratings run in five steps: very low, relatively low, relatively moderate, relatively high and very high. They compare a county with every other US county; they are not a measure of danger on their own.
  • Scores run from 0 to 100 and are national percentiles. The bar shows the score: a score of 80 means a higher value than 80% of US counties.
  • Overall risk combines the expected annual loss with social vulnerability and community resilience.
  • Expected annual loss is the average yearly loss to buildings, people and agriculture the model expects from all 18 hazards.
  • Social vulnerability describes how hard it may be for people to prepare for and recover from a disaster. Higher is worse.
  • Community resilience describes a community's ability to prepare, adapt and recover. Higher is better.
  • "Not applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard there (for example, hurricanes far inland).

About this data

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, version 1.20, released December 2025, published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (US public domain). About the National Risk Index. The index is a model of relative risk built from historical hazard records, what is exposed and community factors. It is not a forecast, it does not describe any single property, and it is not insurance or financial advice. For decisions about a specific address, check FEMA's flood maps and your local emergency management office.

Questions

What is the natural disaster risk in Stephens County, Texas?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the overall risk in Stephens County as very low, with a score of 9.2 out of 100 (higher than 9% of US counties). That is a comparison with other US counties, not a forecast.

What are the biggest natural hazards in Stephens County?

The hazards rated highest for Stephens County are wildfire (relatively low), hail (relatively low), drought (relatively low).

What is the flood risk in Stephens County?

FEMA rates inland (river and rain) flooding risk in Stephens County as very low. For a specific property, check the FEMA flood map and your local floodplain office.

Has Stephens County had a FEMA disaster declaration?

Not since 1 Jan 2024: no FEMA disaster declaration in the records this site read names Stephens County.

Is Stephens County in a drought?

Yes. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, 80.06% of Stephens County is in D2 Severe Drought. Some of it has been at D2 or worse for 4 weeks in a row. In all, 100% of the county is in drought (D1 to D4).

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