Polk, TX
Polk County in Texas has 17 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1973–2024, most recently Hurricane Beryl on Jul 9, 2024 (DR-4798). Its flood risk grade is B (Moderate risk), ranking #65 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 29 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $899,038 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Polk County
The 17 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Polk County, TX (1973–2024). Total declarations on record: 17.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 2024 | Hurricane | Hurricane Beryl | DR-4798 |
| May 17, 2024 | Flood | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | DR-4781 |
| Aug 24, 2020 | Hurricane | Tropical Storms Marco and Laura | DR-3540 |
| Feb 25, 2019 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding | DR-4416 |
| Aug 25, 2017 | Hurricane | Hurricane Harvey | DR-4332 |
| Jun 11, 2016 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding | DR-4272 |
| Sep 13, 2008 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ike | DR-1791 |
| Sep 10, 2008 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ike | DR-3294 |
| Aug 29, 2008 | Hurricane | Hurricane Gustav | DR-3290 |
| Sep 24, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Rita | DR-1606 |
| Sep 21, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Rita | DR-3261 |
| Sep 2, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3216 |
| Jun 9, 2001 | Coastal Storm | Tx-Tropical Storm Allison-06-06-2001 | DR-1379 |
| Oct 21, 1998 | Flood | Tx-Flooding 10/18/98 | DR-1257 |
| Oct 18, 1994 | Flood | Severe Thunderstorms and Flooding | DR-1041 |
| Dec 26, 1991 | Flood | Severe Thunderstorms | DR-930 |
| Jul 11, 1973 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-398 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 24 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in Texas
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron | B | 24 | 380 | 21 |
| Chambers | B | 24 | 179 | 15 |
| Waller | B | 24 | 119 | 15 |
| Wharton | B | 24 | 132 | 16 |
| Grimes | B | 23 | 12 | 14 |
| Austin | B | 23 | 36 | 14 |
More Counties in Texas
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Polk County, TX have?
Polk County, TX has 17 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1973–2024). The 5 most recent are: Hurricane Beryl (declared Jul 9, 2024, DR-4798); Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding (declared May 17, 2024, DR-4781); Tropical Storms Marco and Laura (declared Aug 24, 2020, DR-3540); Severe Storms and Flooding (declared Feb 25, 2019, DR-4416); Hurricane Harvey (declared Aug 25, 2017, DR-4332). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Polk County, TX?
Polk County is graded B (composite score 24/100, moderate risk). It ranks #65 of 3,277 U.S. counties for flood risk in our scoring model. The grade combines NFIP claims density (40%), disaster frequency (25%), claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%).
How many NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Polk County?
29 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Polk County, TX, totaling $899,038 in payouts. The average claim is $31,001. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Polk County, TX had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Polk County was Hurricane Beryl on Jul 9, 2024 (DR-4798). The county has 17 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1973–2024.
The this entity record above pulls directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
Every number on this page links back to FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for this entity is typically a peer within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.