9 flood insurance claims·$177,685 paid·4 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 Falls 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 Falls County, accounting for 36 out of 43 total recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 7 general flood events resulting in 1 death.
Recent occurrences illustrate these patterns. Multiple rounds of thunderstorms from a deep low pressure system produced flooding on April 9–10, 2024, following a total solar eclipse. A slow-moving front generated additional heavy rain and flooding across Central Texas on May 16, 2024. Another severe weather event on May 6, 2025, involved thunderstorms, large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data shows claims filed across different zones. Zone A recorded 7 claims with an average payout of $16,155 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 1 claim averaging a $5,957 payout and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone X recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $58,641 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located in designated flood hazard areas, such as Zone A, should pay the closest attention to flood risk and mitigation.
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 4 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 3 claims and $51,197 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 Falls County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 26, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 30, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 22, 2016 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Extreme Wildfire Threat | Nov 27, 2005 |
| Hurricane Rita | Sep 23, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
43 since 1996: 36 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2024 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 9, 2024 | $25,000 |
| Flood | Apr 20, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jun 7, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Mar 9, 2016 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Mar 9, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 6, 2025. A sharp upper trough and a meandering surface front generated two rounds of thunderstorms across the region, one round on May 5 and the other on May 6. Most of the severe weather took place on the 6th, when large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes occurred. A total of 5 tornadoes were surveyed in the far southeast parts of the County Warning Area: two EF-0s and three EF-1s. The strongest tornado had winds u…
Flash Flood · May 16, 2024. A slow-moving front generated a round of thunderstorms which produced multiple areas of heavy rain and flooding from the Big Country to Central Texas on May 16.
Flash Flood · Apr 9, 2024. Multiple rounds of thunderstorms occurred from Monday April 8 through Wednesday April 10 as a deep low pressure system moved east through the Rockies, eventually transitioning to an open trough as it traversed the Plains. The first round of thunderstorms began immediately after the region experienced a total solar eclipse! Large hail was the primary severe weather occurrence on April 8th, though flooding became a…
Flood · Apr 20, 2023. An upper trough moving through the Southern Plains generated scattered to numerous thunderstorms across North and Central Texas on Thursday April 20. Storms were focused along a slow-moving cold front, and several of them became severe with large hail being the primary severe weather occurrence. Hail up to 2 inches was reported in Coryell County and hail up to 3 inches was reported in Collin County.
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 Falls 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.