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Refugio, Texas

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Refugio census division. It lies in ZIP code area 78377. The Survey maps it on the Refugio quadrangle. 2,712 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 46 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Refugio within Refugio County

On record in Refugio

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 4 records

Population over time

2 figures

Refugio fell from 2,890 to 2,712 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.

YearPeople Change
20102,890
20202,712-178 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 8 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

8 since 2009

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 8 fires within 5 miles of Refugio between 2009 and 2019, burning about 516 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined6
Debris and open burning1
Equipment and vehicle use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
30 August 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined7.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceLABOR DAY FIRES U. S. 77
1 May 2009Equipment and vehicle use500 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE
26 October 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceHIGHWAY 77 GRASS FIRE
24 October 2016Debris and open burning3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Service77N
7 January 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceHENDERSON RANCH FIRE
30 January 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest Service1 MILE ON HWY 77
22 January 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Service77N
11 January 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceHWY 183 FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Refugio County

Storms near this place

41 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Refugio in 41 storm reports between 1994 and 2021: 12 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 11 flash flood, 2 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 1995Tornado (F0)Refugio1 hurt, $40,000County sheriff report of a tornado which had overturned two tractor-semitrailer resulting in one injury.
April 2015HailRefugio$50,000Quarter to golf ball sized hail occurred across the northwest and northern portions of the city of Refugio.
June 2014Tornado (EF0)Refugio$50,000NWS storm survey and local video concluded an EF0 tornado, with winds estimated at 65 MPH briefly touched down in north Refugio. It touched down near the intersection of west Heard Street and north Alamo Street. The tornado removed the roof and collapsed the north facing exterior wall of one mobile home. Minor shingle damage was observed on a couple of homes along east Houston Street. Several large trees were toppled.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindRefugio$50,000Winds caused the roof to lift off a trailer house, downed numerous trees, damaged many fences, and downed power lines in Refugio.
March 2016LightningRefugio$25,000Lightning struck a 200 barrel oil storage tank on North Swift Street creating a large oil fire. Multiple emergency vehicles were required to contain the fire.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindRefugio$15,000Power poles were blown down and a trampoline was blown up into a tree on the west side of Refugio.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindRefugio$10,000Thunderstorm winds blew part of a roof off in Refugio. This caused a natural gas line to break.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindRefugio$5,000A picture was relayed via social media of a 2 feet diameter tree uprooted in Refugio.
May 1994Thunderstorm WindRefugio$5,000Power lines were reported down in Refugio by the County Sheriff.
July 2021Flash FloodRefugio-FM 774 from Texas Highway 35 to FM 2678 was closed due to high water.
July 2021FloodRefugio-Copano Creek near Refugio went above major flood stage on the afternoon of the 8th and crested near 18 feet during the early morning hours of the 9th.
July 2021Flash FloodRefugio-FM 774 east of Refugio was closed due to flooding.
June 2017HailRefugio-Pictures relayed through social media showed quarter to half dollar sized hail in Refugio.
April 2015Funnel CloudRefugio-Refugio County Sheriff's Office reported a funnel cloud northwest of Refugio.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindRefugio-Refugio County Sheriff's Office estimated wind gusts up to 65 mph.
June 2014Flash FloodRefugio-Public reported county roads covered with a foot of water in places to the northeast of Refugio.
September 2010Flash FloodRefugio-Water over the roadways of FM 774 and Highway 35 along Artesian Creek.
July 2007Flash FloodRefugio-Very heavy rainfall, of up to 6 to 12 inches in some spots, led to numerous secondary roads underwater and impassable throughout the most of the Refugio county. U.S. 77 became impassable with high water just north of the city of Refugio. Highway 35 was closed due to many impassable spots. Tivoli and Austwell had significant flash flooding, with almost all streets impassable.
October 2005HailRefugio-Penny size hail reported at Copano Creek and U.S. 77.
November 2004HailRefugio-Reported by county sheriff along Highway 183 near the Refugio and Goliad county line.
September 2003Flash FloodRefugio-Heavy rainfall resulted in several streets flooded in the city of Refugio.
March 2000Flash FloodRefugio-Five to twelve inches of rain fell over Refugio county as a thunderstorm remained stationary for several hours. Local law enforcement officials closed FM 2678 from Refugio to Bayside.
August 1998Thunderstorm WindRefugio-Several large trees downed by thunderstorm wind.
February 1998Thunderstorm WindRefugio-Strong thunderstorm wind gust overturned two semi-tractor trailers on Highway 77.
April 1995HailRefugio-Agricultural extension reported 8000 acres of damage (cotton...4000, corn...3000, Milo...1000). The sheriff's department reported large trees downed by thunderstorm winds.
April 1995HailRefugio-Sheriff's department and the agricultural extension reported hail.
May 2006HailRefugio-no account filed
March 2005HailRefugio-no account filed
November 2003Funnel CloudRefugio-no account filed
May 1999Thunderstorm WindRefugio-no account filed
May 1999Thunderstorm WindRefugio-no account filed
May 1999HailRefugio-no account filed
May 1999Thunderstorm WindRefugio-no account filed
September 1998Flash FloodRefugio-no account filed
October 1998Thunderstorm WindRefugio-no account filed
February 1998HailRefugio-no account filed
March 1997Flash FloodRefugio-no account filed
March 1997Flash FloodRefugio-no account filed
March 1997HailRefugio-no account filed
March 1997Flash FloodRefugio-no account filed
June 1996HailRefugio-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Refugio County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Woodsboro5.2 miles8
Ryanville7.2 miles8
Quintana7.5 miles9
Bonnie View9.6 miles8
Cranell11.3 miles8
Vidaurri11.7 miles9
Old Saint Marys14.5 miles9
Bayside14.9 miles9

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 RefugioAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q975650The 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 1345013. 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.