3 flood insurance claims·$36,311 paid·1 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 Carson 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Carson County, accounting for 16 of the 25 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 9 general flood events.
Recent history illustrates this pattern, including heavy rainfall from severe thunderstorms on June 8, 2025, and moisture-fed storm lines that resulted in localized flooding on June 26, 2025. Another slow-moving frontal boundary produced scattered rainfall totals of 1 to 2 inches between June 1 and July 2, 2021.
National Flood Insurance Program records show limited claims history, consisting of two claims in Zone A averaging a $1,096 payout with an average recorded water depth of 1 inch, and one claim in Zone X_UNSHADED averaging a $35,216 payout with an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Residents in Zone A and Zone X_UNSHADED should pay the most attention to local flood risks, given the documented payouts and water depths associated with those zones.
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 2015, with 1 claims and $35,216 paid.
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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Carson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1992, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| North 207 Fire | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Wildfires | Apr 6, 2011 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Extreme Wildfire Threat | Nov 27, 2005 |
| Hurricane Rita | Sep 23, 2005 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
25 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flood | May 18, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jun 19, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Jun 25, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Oct 3, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 26, 2025. A line of storms moved through the central Texas Panhandle. Ample atmospheric moisture allowed for heavy rain to occur which resulted in localized flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 8, 2025. Thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front on the afternoon of June 8th and rapidly became severe. These thunderstorms gradually developed into disorganized lines of thunderstorms through the late afternoon and evening, while a discrete supercell in the western Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles produced 4 tornadoes. Otherwise, these thunderstorms produced wind gusts up to 80 mph, hail up to 2.25 inches in diameter,…
Flood · May 18, 2021. On May 18th, a slow moving upper level low pressure system which had been responsible for severe storms May 15 through May 17th, moved east into northern New Mexico. The environment was just unstable enough to produce a few severe storms in the area with large hail and severe wind gusts. These storms also produced some heavy rain with nuisance flooding in some areas. A few automated weather equipment across the Pa…
Flash Flood · Jul 1, 2021. A weak upper level disturbance and slow moving frontal boundary interacted with copious moisture that was in place to produce thunderstorms with heavy rainfall across the Panhandles beginning Thursday afternoon June 1 and continuing through the early morning hours on June 2. The storms initially developed across the Oklahoma Panhandle as the boundary sagged into the area in the afternoon. Scattered higher rainfall…
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 Carson 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.