180 flood insurance claims·$7.3M 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 Caldwell 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 weather events dominates the flood risk profile in Caldwell County. According to NOAA Storm Events Database records from the last 30 years, the county experienced 83 flash flood events resulting in 10 deaths, alongside 17 general flood events causing 1 death, and 1 tropical storm.
Recent historic events illustrate this hazard. On October 14, 2021, a complex weather pattern involving a dryline, cold front, and the remnants of Pacific Hurricane Pamela brought an excessive rain episode that caused considerable flash and river flooding. Similarly, on May 1, 2021, an upper-level low combined with a surface low to generate thunderstorms in a very moist airmass, producing locally heavy rain and flash flooding.
NFIP claims data demonstrates that flood risks extend across multiple zones. Properties in Zone A recorded 116 claims with an average payout of $54,955 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 31 claims with an average payout of $53,945 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches, and Zone X_SHADED properties recorded 12 claims with an average payout of $51,848 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas like Zone A, as well as those in moderate-to-low risk Zone X and shaded Zone X areas, should pay close attention to these historical payout and water depth averages when evaluating property risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Caldwell County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
130 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 9 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 107 claims and $5.6M 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.
27 NOAA storm reports from Caldwell County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 26, 2024 |
| 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, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 22, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Oct 30, 2013 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
101 since 1996: 83 flash floods and 17 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Oct 14, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 9, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 28, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 7, 2018 | — · 2 killed |
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Oct 14, 2021. A complicated weather pattern developed over South Central Texas when a dryline and cold front moved out of West Texas as an upper level low moved into the Central Plains. At the same time the remnants of Pacific Hurricane Pamela moved across northern Mexico. The airmass over the region was warm and moist with near record precipitable water values. This set up led to an excessive rain episode with considerable fla…
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 · Jun 28, 2020. Thunderstorms developed as an upper level shortwave trough moved across South Central Texas. These storms fed off a very moist airmass with precipitable water values above two inches. Some storms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Sep 9, 2020. A cold front moved into a warm, moist airmass over South Central Texas generating thunderstorms. Some of these storms 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 Caldwell 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.