13 flood insurance claims·$326,267 paid·2 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 Franklin 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 thunderstorms and heavy rainfall systems dominates the flood character of Franklin County, according to NOAA storm records from the last 30 years, which document 21 flash flood events, 3 general flood events, and 1 tropical storm.
Recent occurrences include persistent heavy rainfall from a low-pressure system and subtropical jet stream that caused a flash flood on February 12, 2020, following an earlier event on February 21, 2018. Additionally, a large cluster of thunderstorms produced severe weather and flash flooding on April 26, 2024, followed by another flood event on April 4, 2025, driven by a stationary front and low-level jet.
FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records show claims filed in both defined Zone A and Zone UNKNOWN. Properties in Zone UNKNOWN experienced 9 claims with an average payout of $32,421 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches, while Zone A properties recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $32,936 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and unmapped or unknown flood zones, as these areas have experienced structural water damage and financial losses from recorded events.
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 10 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 10 claims and $255,533 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Franklin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1998, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 30, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Tropical Storms Marco And Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 10, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 26, 2015 |
| Wildfires | Aug 30, 2011 |
| Wildfires | Apr 6, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
25 since 1996: 21 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 12, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Feb 22, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 21, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 27, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 12, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 4, 2025. A stationary front extended across portions of Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas during the early morning hours on April 4th, but lifted north into Southeast Oklahoma and Western Arkansas during the day. This was in response to an intensifying low level jet that developed ahead of a large upper trough that extended from the Intermountain West into the Plains, which provided the necessary lift across the very…
Flash Flood · Apr 26, 2024. A large cluster of strong to severe thunderstorms developed across Northeast Texas late in the afternoon on April 26th. These thunderstorms formed on the north side of a weak surface theta-e gradient, with southwest winds just off the surface aiding in warm air advection and inflow across the region. This cluster of thunderstorms maintained severe intensity for several hours with numerous reports of large hail and…
Flash Flood · Feb 12, 2020. Areas of showers remained persistent across much of the Ark-La-Tex through much of the day on February 11th, along the subtropical jet stream that extended over much of Texas and the Lower Mississippi Valley ahead of a strong upper level low pressure system just off the Northwest Baja California coast. These rains primed the already wet soils on the 11th, before the low pressure system began to eject northeast and…
Flood · Feb 22, 2018. An upper level low pressure system progressed east southeast from the Pacific Northwest into the Central and Southern Rockies on the morning of February 20th, reinforcing a cold front slowly southeast into Southeast Oklahoma, Northeast Texas, and Southwest Arkansas during the early morning hours of February 21st. A deep southwest flow aloft was present along and behind the front across the Southern Plains and Miss…
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 Franklin 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.