State Guide

Texas: The Storm-Ready Checklist

Texas's biggest weather risks are extreme rainfall and flash flood (May–Aug), extreme heat (May–Jul) and extreme cold (Feb). This page collects the state's emergency contacts, shelter and mitigation money, and the rules worth knowing before the next warning: every fact linked to its source below.

Tornado AlleyHurricane CoastWildfire West

Money

Shelter & mitigation money

No dedicated state-run storm-shelter rebate or grant program is listed for Texas in the mitigation data reviewed for this page. Check with the state emergency management agency below for anything new.

NAIC lists Texas among the 19 states plus DC with a separate hurricane or named-storm deductible in homeowner policies as of June 2025 (content.naic.org/insurance-topics/hurricane-deductibles).

Contacts

Who to call, before and after

• Emergency management

  Texas Division of Emergency Management · (512) 424-2138

• Insurance regulator

  State insurance regulator · (512) 676-6000

• Energy bill assistance (LIHEAP)

  Energy bill assistance (LIHEAP) · 1-877-399-8939

• Well water testing

  Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Hazards

The hazards Texas actually faces

• Extreme rainfall and flash flood

  Peak season: May–Aug. Flash flooding is the deadliest hazard tied to rainfall, and most of those deaths are people driving into water they underestimated: six inches of moving water can stall a car, twelve can float one. Rainfall intensity, not just total inches, is what overwhelms storm drains and low-lying roads in a window of an hour or less.

• Extreme heat

  Peak season: May–Jul. Extreme heat kills more people in an average US year than any other weather hazard, and most of those deaths are preventable: the risk concentrates in the first heat wave of the season, before bodies acclimate, and in households without reliable cooling. Checking on elderly or isolated neighbors during a heat advisory does more than any single piece of equipment.

• Extreme cold

  Peak season: Feb. Extreme cold turns ordinary failures (a stalled car, a lost power connection, a wet coat) into emergencies far faster than people expect, and hypothermia risk starts well above freezing once wind and moisture are factored in. Frozen and burst pipes are the most common property-damage claim tied to cold snaps, and they are largely preventable with basic insulation and a known shutoff valve.

Know Before You Need It

Rules worth knowing

• Emergency prescription refills

  Up to a 30-day supply (non-Schedule-II) when a natural/man-made disaster prevents contacting the prescriber, the governor has declared a state of disaster under Govt. Code Ch. 418, and the Board has issued its own notification. Tex. Occ. Code § 562.054.

• Summer utility shutoff protection

  No shutoff during an NWS Heat Advisory for the customer's county, plus 2 additional days after the advisory ends; providers must also offer a deferred payment plan for bills due during extreme weather (PUC of Texas).

FAQ

Frequently asked

Does Texas offer storm shelter rebates?

No dedicated state-run storm-shelter rebate or grant program is listed for Texas in the mitigation data reviewed here. The state emergency management agency is the best source for anything new.

What natural disasters does Texas get?

Texas's primary weather hazards are extreme rainfall and flash flood (May–Aug), extreme heat (May–Jul) and extreme cold (Feb).

Who regulates insurance in Texas?

Insurance in Texas is regulated by the state insurance regulator.

Data verified 2026-08-02, sources linked inline.

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