21,436 flood insurance claims·$627.7M paid·15 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 Brazoria 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 and tropical weather dominate the flood history of Brazoria County, TX, supported by NOAA Storm Events Database records showing 61 flash flood events, 14 tropical storms, 9 coastal flood events, 6 storm surge or tide events, 3 hurricanes, and 2 general floods over the last 30 years. Two fatalities are recorded across the tropical storm and hurricane events.
Recent impacts are illustrated by Tropical Storm Alberto and coastal flooding in June 2024, as well as Hurricane Nicholas in September 2021, which made landfall near Sargent with 75 mph winds and brought 6 to 10 inches of rainfall alongside storm surge.
NFIP claim records reflect widespread risk across various designations. Zone A accounts for 8,740 claims with an average payout of $51,829 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone X accounts for 5,571 claims with an average payout of $39,237 and an average water depth of 4 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED accounts for 2,879 claims averaging $10,697 with an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone V accounts for 2,097 claims averaging $17,528 with an average water depth of 15 inches. Properties in Zone A, Zone V, and lower-lying or coastal areas should pay the closest attention to flood risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
25% of Brazoria County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
14,411 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 4 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 2017, with 5,120 claims and $403.4M paid, the year of Hurricane Harvey.
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.
35 NOAA storm reports from Brazoria County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
34 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 15 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Beryl | Jul 5, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Tropical Storms Marco And Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Hurricane Hanna | Jul 25, 2020 |
| Hurricane Harvey | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 22, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 22, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
95 since 1996: 61 flash floods, 2 river or area floods and 15 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Jun 19, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Jun 18, 2024 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Sep 13, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 13, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 1, 2021 | $5,000 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Aug 26, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Jul 25, 2020 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jul 25, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Jun 19, 2024. A Potential Tropical Cyclone became Tropical Storm Alberto as it moved generally westward across the southern Gulf of Mexico and made landfall in the Tampico area. Coastal flooding occurred along the upper Texas coast.
Tropical Storm · Jun 18, 2024. A Potential Tropical Cyclone became Tropical Storm Alberto as it moved generally westward across the southern Gulf of Mexico and made landfall in the Tampico area. Coastal flooding occurred along the upper Texas coast.
Storm Surge/Tide · Sep 13, 2021. Nicholas formed on September 12 in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico, slowly advancing northeastward along the Middle Texas Coast. It eventually made landfall 10 miles west of Sargent just after midnight on September 14, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 75 mph. Heavy rain bands associated with Nicholas brought widespread rainfall totals of 6 to 10 inches to the Southeast Texas Coast, while strong wind gusts res…
Tropical Storm · Sep 13, 2021. Nicholas formed on September 12 in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico, slowly advancing northeastward along the Middle Texas Coast. It eventually made landfall 10 miles west of Sargent just after midnight on September 14, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 75 mph. Heavy rain bands associated with Nicholas brought widespread rainfall totals of 6 to 10 inches to the Southeast Texas Coast, while strong wind gusts res…
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 Brazoria 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.