7,061 flood insurance claims·$184.7M paid·13 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 Cameron 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 general flooding from intense storms and tropical rainfall dominate the flood risk in Cameron County, supported by NOAA Storm Events Database records showing 92 flash flood events and 49 flood events over the last 30 years, alongside tropical storms, coastal floods, and storm surges. Recent historical events illustrate this vulnerability, such as the repeating bands of tropical rainfall in July 2025 that produced measured and estimated totals of 5 to nearly 8 inches and caused minor street flooding on South Padre Island and Port Isabel. Additionally, rounds of showers and thunderstorms in March 2025 brought historic seasonal rainfall ranging from 8 to nearly 19 inches, resulting in widespread flash and areal flooding across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that risk extends across multiple zones, with significant historical payout activity. Zone X recorded 2,617 claims with an average payout of $58,878 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 1,828 claims averaging $16,635 with an average water depth of 3 inches, while Zone A logged 1,404 claims averaging $23,908 with an average water depth of 6 inches. Zone X_SHADED saw 307 claims averaging $25,544 with an average water depth of 3 inches, and the Unknown zone recorded 621 claims averaging $11,818 with an average water depth of 3 inches. Property owners in moderate-to-high risk Special Flood Hazard Areas and those in shaded or unshaded Zone X areas should pay close attention to these historical flood and flash flood patterns.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
56% of Cameron County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
3,811 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 7 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 2008, with 1,599 claims and $22.7M paid, the year of Hurricane Dolly, Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike.
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.
91 NOAA storm reports from Cameron County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
34 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 13 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 26, 2025 |
| 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 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 24, 2019 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 19, 2018 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
153 since 1996: 92 flash floods, 49 river or area floods and 7 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 28, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 27, 2025 | $105.0M |
| Flash Flood | Mar 27, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Mar 27, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Sep 19, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2025 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Jun 19, 2024 | $2.5M |
| Flash Flood | Sep 15, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 28, 2025. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms pummeled the Lower Rio Grande Valley, especially during the afternoon and overnight hours of March 27th into early on March 28th, resulting in historic seasonal rainfall and widespread flash and areal flooding across the RGV. Total rainfall ranged from 8 to nearly 19 inches based on trusted observations, with 10 inches or more falling across some of the highest populate…
Flash Flood · Mar 27, 2025. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms pummeled the Lower Rio Grande Valley, especially during the afternoon and overnight hours of March 27th into early on March 28th, resulting in historic seasonal rainfall and widespread flash and areal flooding across the RGV. Total rainfall ranged from 8 to nearly 19 inches based on trusted observations, with 10 inches or more falling across some of the highest populate…
Flood · Mar 27, 2025. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms pummeled the Lower Rio Grande Valley, especially during the afternoon and overnight hours of March 27th into early on March 28th, resulting in historic seasonal rainfall and widespread flash and areal flooding across the RGV. Total rainfall ranged from 8 to nearly 19 inches based on trusted observations, with 10 inches or more falling across some of the highest populate…
Flood · Sep 19, 2025. A small but potent slow-moving thunderstorm dropped rainfall rates of 2 inches per hour for about 2 hours in a small area between Olmito and Rancho Viejo, about 11 miles north-northwest of downtown Brownsville. Minor flooding of 1 to 2 feet, mainly on poor drainage roads, was observed in the area.
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 Cameron 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.