If you have ever wondered which U.S. cities face the toughest natural hazard outlooks, FEMA’s National Risk Index offers a data grounded lens. It blends hazard exposure, expected losses, community vulnerability, and resilience to show where impacts could hit hardest. While the Index is county based, you can still see how cities inherit those risks from the counties that surround them. Use this guide to understand where the numbers point and what that means for people, homes, and daily life.
Houston (Harris County, Texas)
Houston sits inside Harris County, a place FEMA’s National Risk Index consistently flags for hurricane and flood exposure. You can feel the stakes whenever rain lingers over flat neighborhoods and bayous run high. With massive infrastructure and dense development, expected losses climb quickly once storm surge, wind, and inland flooding stack together.
The memory of Harvey still shapes preparation. You see higher freeboard requirements, buyouts near repetitive loss properties, and stronger building codes in newer projects. Yet legacy drainage, pavement heavy growth, and subsidence keep flood risk stubbornly present.
For families, that means checking flood maps, updating insurance, and planning evacuation routes even far from the coast. Businesses harden data centers, elevate critical equipment, and diversify power backups. When Atlantic waters warm and storms intensify, preparedness turns into a routine you practice, not a plan you file away…