NHC HURDAT2 · OpenFEMA · NWS Storm Events
Hurricane Rita (2005)
Rita in the federal records: the 179 cities near its track, flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and NWS reports.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
Hurricane Rita (2005) passed within 75 miles of 179 cities on this site in 4 states, 48 of them while it was at hurricane strength. Its peak wind on the NHC track was 178 mph (Category 5); the track runs from September 18, 2005 to September 26, 2005. It is on this list for 56 deaths in NWS reports that name it. The most cities within 75 miles were in Texas (110), Louisiana (57), Arkansas (8) and Florida (4).
- Cities within 75 mi
- 179
- Peak wind
- 178 mph
- NFIP claims
- 14,662
- Deaths in NWS reports
- 56
48 at hurricane strength
Category 5
$432.9 million
232 reports
The full track, landfalls and every city it passed →
Where it came closest
| City | Closest | Wind on the track | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gueydan, LA | 72 mi | Category 3 (115 mph) | September 24, 2005 |
| Galveston, TX | 74 mi | Category 3 (115 mph) | September 24, 2005 |
| Lake Arthur, LA | 64 mi | Category 3 (114 mph) | September 24, 2005 |
| Crystal Beach, TX | 62 mi | Category 3 (110 mph) | September 24, 2005 |
| Bell City, LA | 47 mi | Category 2 (109 mph) | September 24, 2005 |
| Jennings, LA | 72 mi | Category 2 (108 mph) | September 24, 2005 |
| Welsh, LA | 62 mi | Category 2 (106 mph) | September 24, 2005 |
| Iowa, LA | 53 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | September 24, 2005 |
| Port Arthur, TX | 7 mi | Category 2 (102 mph) | September 24, 2005 |
| Groves, TX | 5 mi | Category 2 (101 mph) | September 24, 2005 |
| Lake Charles, LA | 41 mi | Category 2 (101 mph) | September 24, 2005 |
| Key West, FL | 43 mi | Category 2 (101 mph) | September 20, 2005 |
The 12 cities with the strongest wind on the NHC best track at its closest point, of 179 within 75 miles. Wind on the track is not the wind felt in the city.
Flood insurance claims and federal declarations
National Flood Insurance Program policyholders filed 14,662 claims under its name and were paid $432.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of the time; that is the 22nd most of the 104 tropical systems with claims under their name. Louisiana had 10,810 of them (74%), then Texas with 3,852. Among the cities on this site, the most claims came from Lake Charles, LA: 1,145, paid $30.9 million. Claims data as of September 8, 2026. FEMA issued 2 major disaster declarations and 3 emergency declarations naming it, covering 641 designated areas in Florida, Louisiana and Texas; the first came on September 20, 2005.
| City | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Charles, LA | 1,145 | $30.9 million |
| Chauvin, LA | 973 | $38.5 million |
| New Orleans, LA | 948 | $13.6 million |
| Port Arthur, TX | 858 | $12.9 million |
| Erath, LA | 727 | $31.5 million |
| Beaumont, TX | 632 | $4.4 million |
| Houma, LA | 588 | $18.0 million |
| New Iberia, LA | 574 | $23.3 million |
FEMA, OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3 (claims whose flood event carries the storm's name, ZIP codes summed by city) and Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, retrieved October 25, 2026. 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).
What the National Weather Service recorded
The National Weather Service logged 232 reports whose account names it, in 7 states: 80 tropical storm, 78 hurricane, 36 tornado, 17 storm surge and 6 flash flood. They record 56 deaths and 11 injuries, and $6.73 billion in estimated property and crop damage.
September 21, 2005, Harris, Texas: heat, 34 killed
NWS: “Deaths were all associated with the evacuation for Hurricane Rita, both before and after Rita's arrival. Rita made landfall just east of the Texas/Louisiana border early Saturday morning, September 24th.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, reports dated within the storm's track whose account names it. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses; some reports are unverified.
More notable storms
Why these storms and how each figure is counted: methodology.