331 flood insurance claims·$9.9M paid·7 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Bastrop County, Texas. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from severe thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Bastrop County. Over the past 30 years, NOAA records show 95 flash flood events resulting in 2 deaths, compared to 7 standard flood events and 1 tropical storm. Flash flooding is frequently triggered by upper-level weather systems and moist airmasses interacting with leftover outflow boundaries, such as the heavy rain events recorded in May 2019 and May 2021.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood risks extend across multiple zones. Properties in moderate-to-low risk Zone X account for 165 claims with an average payout of $39,056 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Meanwhile, properties in high-risk Zone A account for 147 claims with an average payout of $34,990 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. An additional 19 claims are recorded in Zone UNKNOWN, with an average payout of $18,058 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located outside of traditionally mapped high-risk areas, given that Zone X properties accumulated the highest total number of insurance claims and substantial average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Bastrop County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
147 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 8 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2015, with 100 claims and $3.2M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds and Flooding and Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
23 NOAA storm reports from Bastrop County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
31 federal disaster declarations since 1991, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 30, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Hurricane Harvey | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 22, 2016 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 17, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 22, 2015 |
| Hidden Pines Fire | Oct 13, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
103 since 1996: 95 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 3, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 7, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Aug 27, 2017 | $1.5M |
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2017 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 26, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 1, 2021. An upper level low over the Big Bend region combined with a surface low over South Texas to generate thunderstorms. The airmass in which these storms developed was very moist with precipitable water values above the 90th percentile of the long term record. Some of these storms produced locally heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · May 4, 2019. Convection from the previous day left a number of outflow boundaries across South Central Texas. These interacted with a mid to upper level shortwave trough to trigger thunderstorms. Some of these storms produced tornadoes, large hail, damaging wind gusts, and heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · May 3, 2019. Convection from the previous day left a number of outflow boundaries across South Central Texas. These interacted with a mid to upper level shortwave trough to trigger thunderstorms. Some of these storms produced tornadoes, large hail, damaging wind gusts, and heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Dec 7, 2018. An upper level shortwave trough interacted with a surface stationary front to generate thunderstorms. These storms formed in a very moist airmass with PW values above 1.5 inches and some of them produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Bastrop County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.