6 flood insurance claims·$46,080 paid·6 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 Callahan 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 and heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk profile in Callahan County, Texas, accounting for the vast majority of recorded events over the last thirty years alongside occasional general floods and tropical depressions.
Recent weather patterns illustrate this hazard. On March 7, 2024, strong to severe thunderstorms produced flash flooding in portions of Callahan and Taylor counties. Later, on May 18, 2025, a strong upper-level low-pressure system and surface dryline combined to generate rounds of severe thunderstorms and flooding across west-central Texas.
Property owners and real estate professionals should pay close attention to designated flood zones, particularly Zone A, which recorded three National Flood Insurance Program claims with an average payout of $13,597 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Unshaded Zone X properties also carry risk, accounting for two claims with an average payout of $17,955 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch, while standard Zone X recorded one claim averaging $930 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 2 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 1991, with 1 claims and $18,432 paid, the year of Severe Thunderstorms.
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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Callahan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1990, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 10, 2018 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 22, 2016 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 17, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Wildfires | Apr 6, 2011 |
| Steel Fire | Apr 7, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
32 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 19, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 18, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 7, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Sep 2, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 31, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Oct 17, 2018 | $1.1M |
| Flash Flood | Feb 19, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 19, 2025. The combination of a stationary front, surface dryline and an upper level low pressure system to the west resulted in many severe thunderstorms developing on the afternoon and evening along the stationary front on April 19th. Also, moderate to strong instability and strong vertical wind shear helped with the severe storm development. The severe storms produced very large hail and damaging winds and a few tornadoes…
Flood · May 18, 2025. The combination of a strong upper level area of low pressure and a surface dryline resulted in a few rounds of severe thunderstorms across portions of west central Texas. In addition, strong to extreme instability and strong vertical wind shear assisted with severe thunderstorm development. The severe storms produced large hail and a tornado in Shackelford County on May 18th.
Flash Flood · Mar 7, 2024. Strong to severe thunderstorms produced isolated large hail across portions of the Heartland as well as flash flooding in portions of Taylor and Callahan counties.
Flood · Sep 2, 2024. A significant heavy rainfall event occurred early in the month across mainly the Concho Valley, northern Heartland and southern Big Country due to a slow moving upper level storm system and a very moist tropical airmass, which was near record levels for early September. Numerous showers and a few thunderstorms produced localized heavy rainfall amounts greater than 10 inches across portions of northeast Tom Green,…
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 Callahan 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.