2,096 flood insurance claims·$128.6M paid·9 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 Chambers 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 history of Chambers County, backed by 44 recorded flash flood events out of 63 total flood incidents over the last 30 years according to the NOAA Storm Events Database. This risk is compounded by tropical systems and coastal flooding. Recent events illustrate this vulnerability, such as the evening thunderstorms on April 29, 2024, which produced extensive flash flooding, tornadoes, and wind damage, and the heavy rain bands from Tropical Storm Nicholas in September 2021, which dropped 6 to 10 inches of widespread rainfall across the Southeast Texas Coast.
National Flood Insurance Program records show significant impacts across multiple zones. Properties in Zone X account for the highest claim volume with 1,117 claims averaging a $97,489 payout and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone A properties experienced 361 claims with an average payout of $66,172 and a higher average recorded water depth of 20 inches. Additionally, Zone X_SHADED recorded 84 claims averaging a $63,246 payout with an average water depth of 9 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED saw 311 claims averaging a $24,690 payout with a 6-inch average water depth.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A face the highest flood depths and should pay close attention to structural elevation, while property owners across all Zone X designations must account for substantial cumulative claim histories and standing water risks driven by severe thunderstorms and tropical weather.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
48% of Chambers County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
823 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 2017, with 728 claims and $71.0M 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.
26 NOAA storm reports from Chambers County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1979, 9 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 |
| Tropical Storm Imelda | Sep 17, 2019 |
| Hurricane Harvey | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Hurricane Ike | Sep 7, 2008 |
| Hurricane Gustav | Aug 27, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
63 since 1996: 44 flash floods and 5 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 30, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 13, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 9, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 19, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 19, 2019 | $80.0M |
| Flash Flood | Sep 18, 2019 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 18, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 29, 2024. Evening through overnight storms produced a lot of flash flooding, a couple tornadoes, some winds damage and some hail.
Flash Flood · Nov 30, 2023. Numerous thunderstorms produced areas of 3 to locally 6 inches of rain...leading to localized flooding.
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…
Tropical Storm · Oct 9, 2020. Delta made landfall along the southwest Louisiana coast but produced tropical storm force winds across parts of Southeast Texas. Delta also produced high surf and elevated tides leading to mainly minor coastal flooding along Gulf facing beaches and around Galveston Bay.
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 Chambers 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.