89 flood insurance claims·$1.4M paid·11 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 Grimes 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 driven by severe storm systems dominates the flood history of Grimes County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 48 flash flood events, alongside 5 tropical storm events and 1 general flood event. Recent history underscores this threat, including a derecho on May 16, 2024, that produced widespread flash flooding and extensive wind damage, as well as a series of disturbances on January 23 and January 24, 2024, that caused the flooding of many homes, extensive high water rescues, and a flood-related fatality.
National Flood Insurance Program records reflect claims across different zones. Properties in high-risk Zone A account for 51 claims with an average payout of $17,870 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X account for 37 claims with an average payout of $24,685 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. One claim is recorded under Zone UNKNOWN, with an average payout of $33,300 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Grimes County should pay the most attention to properties situated within both designated high-risk Zone A and moderate-to-low risk Zone X, where historical claims and recorded water depths demonstrate that significant flooding can occur outside of traditionally mapped high-risk areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Grimes County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
51 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 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 2016, with 25 claims and $515,000 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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Grimes County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1993, 11 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Beryl | Jul 5, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 26, 2024 |
| 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 |
| Hurricane Harvey | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 22, 2016 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
54 since 1996: 48 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 23, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 30, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 13, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2017 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 25, 2017 | $50.0M |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2016 | $500,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jan 24, 2024. A series of disturbances moved across the area resulting in numerous flash flood events that resulted in the flooding of many homes, extensive high water rescues, and a flood-related fatality.
Flash Flood · Jan 23, 2024. A series of disturbances moved across the area resulting in numerous flash flood events that resulted in the flooding of many homes, extensive high water rescues, and a flood-related fatality.
Flash Flood · May 16, 2024. On the evening of May 16, a derecho moved into SE TX. This resulted in extensive wind damage across much of the Greater Houston area, including much of Downtown Houston. Maximum wind gusts were estimated to have reached over 100 mph. Additionally, the system produced two tornadoes and widespread flash flooding. Power outages resulting from the derecho lasted multiple days for hundreds of thousands of people.
Flash Flood · Apr 30, 2021. Heavy rainfall produced flash flooding across portions of Walker and Grimes Counties.
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 Grimes 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.