Port Lavaca, Texas
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1952 and the latest in 1995. It stands in the Port Lavaca census division. It lies in ZIP code area 77979. It stands on Lynn Bayou. The Survey maps it on the Port Lavaca West quadrangle. 11,557 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 16 feet above sea level.
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Population over time
2 figuresPort Lavaca fell from 12,248 to 11,557 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 12,248 | |
| 2020 | 11,557 | -691 (-6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 8 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1952 USGS Port Lavaca West quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Beeville quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Beeville quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1960 USGS Beeville quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Port Lavaca quadrangle1:100000
- 1995 USGS Port Lavaca West quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
22 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 22 fires within 5 miles of Port Lavaca between 2006 and 2018, burning about 20 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 12 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 2008 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 24 August 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | CHAVANA |
| 11 August 2009 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | VILLALOBOS |
| 20 July 2008 | Debris and open burning | 7.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 5 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | SEADRIFT STREET |
| 3 April 2018 | Smoking | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | HARTMAN RD GRASS FIRE |
| 24 April 2009 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | MULCH 2 |
| 23 April 2009 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | MULCH |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
31 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Port Lavaca in 31 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 12 thunderstorm wind, 10 flash flood, 3 tornado, 2 hail. The reports record 1 death and 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2015 | Lightning | Port Lavaca | 1 killed, 1 hurt | Man was struck by lightning after seeking shelter from the thunderstorm outside a store near the 500 block of Benavides Street. The man was revived by CPR, but later died from his injuries on July 2nd. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Port Lavaca | 2 hurt, $350,000 | Emergency manager of Calhoun confirms at least 12 RVs were either damaged or completed destroyed with two confirmed injuries. There was also sporadic tree damage and a couple power poles leaning significantly. Time was estimated from radar and surrounding observations. |
| April 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Port Lavaca | $250,000 | A NWS storm survey concluded that a downburst occurred in the city of Port Lavaca with estimated winds between up to 80 mph. Several homes in the path of the downburst sustained minor roof damage. Two telephone poles were snapped at their base. Numerous large tree limbs were down along with a few uprooted trees. The damage path was approximately a half mile wide and 2 miles in length, beginning near Alcoa Drive and extending northeast to near Travis Street to the south of Highway 35. |
| September 2012 | Tornado (EF0) | Port Lavaca | $100,000 | An NWS storm survey concluded an EF-0 tornado briefly touched down just west of Highway 35 at Farm to Market Road 3084. A Tractor Supply store experienced minor damage which included losing gutters off the building and a rooftop air conditioning unit being flipped. Winds were estimated at 65 mph. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Port Lavaca | $10,000 | TCOON site at Port Lavaca measured a gust to 58 mph. Power lines were blown down in Port Lavaca causing a power outage for the city. |
| January 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Port Lavaca | $5,000 | A few asphalt shingles were blown off of residence. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Port Lavaca | $5,000 | Minor wind damage occurred near Travis Middle School in Port Lavaca. |
| April 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Port Lavaca | $1,000 | Spotters reported tree limbs up to 4 inches in diameter down across the northern portions of Port Lavaca. |
| May 2023 | Flash Flood | Port Lavaca | - | Port Lavaca Police Department reported several roads flooded across the city along with Farm to Market Road 1090. Barricades were needed. |
| May 2021 | Flash Flood | Port Lavaca | - | Heavy rain and flooding resulted in numerous road closures, stranded vehicles, and water rising into homes across multiple locations in the northern part of Calhoun County. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Port Lavaca | - | TCOON site at Port Lavaca measured a gust to 60 mph. |
| December 2012 | Heavy Rain | Port Lavaca | - | Observer reported 2 inches of rainfall occurred in 50 minutes. |
| September 2010 | Funnel Cloud | Port Lavaca | - | Sheriff Department reported a funnel cloud near Port Lavaca. |
| May 2009 | Flash Flood | Port Lavaca | - | Over seven inches of rain fell in Port Lavaca producing widespread flash flooding of low lying areas, small creeks, and streets. |
| May 2006 | Flash Flood | Port Lavaca | - | Several vehicles became stalled in various flooded intersections around town. |
| June 2004 | Flash Flood | Port Lavaca | - | Radar estimated 2 inches of rain fell quickly over already saturated grounds in nothern Calhoun county. A portion of HIghway 87 in Port Lavaca was briefly impassable due to high water. |
| July 2004 | Funnel Cloud | Port Lavaca | - | Funnel cloud was visibile for ten minutes, never touching the ground, and was reported by numerous citizens and motorists to local law enforcement. |
| November 2004 | Hail | Port Lavaca | - | Reported by sheriff in the Six Mile area. |
| July 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Port Lavaca | - | Brief tornado touchdown associated with Hurricane Claudette. NWS Post Storm Survey Team concluded no direct damage associated with tornado. All damage around the area was associated with Hurricane Force winds from Claudette. |
| May 2001 | Tornado (F0) | Port Lavaca | - | Tornado reported on highway 283. Several telephone poles downed. |
| May 1997 | Flash Flood | Port Lavaca | - | Sheriff report of several roadways flooded. |
| May 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Port Lavaca | - | Spotter reports winds near 52 kts knocking over trees. |
| March 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Port Lavaca | - | The county sheriff's office reported wind gusts to 60 mph. |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Port Lavaca | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Flash Flood | Port Lavaca | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Port Lavaca | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Port Lavaca | - | no account filed |
| October 1998 | Flash Flood | Port Lavaca | - | no account filed |
| October 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Port Lavaca | - | no account filed |
| March 1997 | Flash Flood | Port Lavaca | - | no account filed |
| March 1997 | Flash Flood | Port Lavaca | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alamo Beach | 3.2 miles | 10 | |
| Clark Station | 4.5 miles | 8 | |
| Point Comfort | 5.7 miles | 10 | |
| Magnolia Beach | 5.8 miles | 10 | |
| Sixmile | 5.9 miles | 9 | |
| Kamey | 6.4 miles | 9 | |
| Olivia | 9.2 miles | 8 | |
| Indianola | 10.2 miles | 9 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Port Lavaca | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q982477 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1365595. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.





