171 flood insurance claims·$5.1M 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 Eastland 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 storms dominates the flood risk profile in Eastland County, accounting for 46 of the 52 recorded flood events in the NOAA Storm Events Database over the last 30 years, while general floods account for the remaining 6 events. Recent historical impacts include flash flooding driven by a shortwave trough and cold front in May 2024, as well as heavy rain from a weakening line of thunderstorms on Memorial Day in May 2021.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage is not confined to high-risk areas. Zone A leads the county with 105 claims, averaging a payout of $37,280 with an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. However, properties outside traditional high-risk zones also experience significant impacts, including 37 claims in unshaded Zone X with an average payout of $29,776 and an average water depth of 7 inches, and 22 claims in unknown zones averaging $35,280 with an average water depth of 45 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties in designated Zone A, as well as unshaded Zone X properties where historical claims demonstrate a consistent risk of property damage from heavy rainfall and flash flooding.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
27% of Eastland County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
143 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 15 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 2016, with 68 claims and $2.5M paid, the year of Severe Storms 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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Eastland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1990, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 26, 2024 |
| Kidd Fire | Mar 17, 2022 |
| Wheat Field Fire | Mar 17, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 22, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| East Sidwynicks Fire | Apr 15, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
52 since 1996: 46 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Nov 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2021 | — |
| Flood | May 18, 2017 | — |
| Flood | May 30, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2016 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Nov 8, 2024. An upper level storm system brough scattered strong to severe storms that produced large hail, wind damage, and flash flooding for areas near and west of I-35 on both the 7th and 8th. The largest observed hail was the size of golf balls and was reported in Young County.
Flash Flood · May 4, 2024. A shortwave trough and a cold front led to the development of scattered to numerous thunderstorms May 4 and 5. Heavy rain causing flash flooding was the main impact during these days. Unfortunately one flash flood fatality occurred in Johnson County.
Flash Flood · May 31, 2021. A weakening line of thunderstorms Memorial Day morning, followed by a second line of storms that evening (which developed along an approaching cold front), led to instances of heavy rain and flooding across the region. One storm also produced minor wind damage.
Flood · May 18, 2017. Thunderstorms which developed just west of the region along a dryline produced large hail and damaging winds in several counties as they spread east into North and Central Texas. In one instance, high non-thunderstorm winds occurred downstream from the convection, likely due to a heat burst beneath the anvil.
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 Eastland 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.