13 flood insurance claims·$34,353 paid·1 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 Hale 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 intense thunderstorms dominates the local flood profile, accounting for 20 of the 34 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 14 general flood events.
Recent occurrences illustrate these local risks. On September 18, 2025, an isolated storm over northwestern Hale County drifted southeast over Hale Center, dropping an estimated three inches of rain within 30 minutes and stranding numerous vehicles in floodwaters at the Interstate-27 Cleveland Street underpass. Earlier, on May 27, 2023, a thunderstorm complex moving from the Texas Panhandle dropped intense rain onto saturated soils, creating flash flooding on impassable roads across the region.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A, which accumulated the majority of NFIP claims with 9 filings averaging a $9,860 payout and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Properties associated with Zone UNKNOWN and Zone X have recorded fewer claims, with 3 claims averaging a $1,382 payout and 0 inches average water depth, and 1 claim averaging a $2,009 payout and 1 inch average water depth, respectively.
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 1 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 2013, with 3 claims and $23,226 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.
15 NOAA storm reports from Hale County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Extreme Wildfire Threat | Nov 27, 2005 |
| Hurricane Rita | Sep 23, 2005 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Extreme Fire Hazards | Aug 1, 1999 |
| Tropical Storm Charley | Aug 22, 1998 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
34 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 14 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 18, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 27, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 23, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2019 | $1.0M |
| Flood | Oct 8, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Aug 23, 2016 | — |
| Flood | May 27, 2015 | $100,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 18, 2025. An isolated thunderstorm initially developed over northwestern Hale County and drifted to the southeast over Hale Center (Hale County). As this storm passed over Hale Center, it produced very heavy rainfall. Although no known gauges existed in Hale Center at the time, an estimated three inches of rain fell within 30 minutes. Local broadcast media relayed a video of numerous vehicles stranded in flood waters on Int…
Flash Flood · Jun 5, 2025. During the afternoon and evening hours of the fifth, an intense supercell thunderstorm moved over the South Plains region of West Texas, producing several tornadoes over portions of Cochran, Hockley, and Lubbock Counties. This thunderstorm also produced widespread damage from very strong straight-line winds and large hail across western and southwestern portions of the City of Lubbock (Lubbock County) before it ex…
Flood · May 27, 2023. A complex of thunderstorms developed in northeast New Mexico and parts of the Texas Panhandle on the evening of the 26th and swept southeastward early on the 27th, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to all but the southwestern South Plains. The intense rain, falling on top of already saturated soils, created flash flooding in spots. The most intense rainfall was in northern Castro County where storms repeatedly…
Flash Flood · May 23, 2023. Another consecutive evening of severe storms occurred on the Caprock on the evening of the 23rd as the atmosphere again became very unstable. Several of the thunderstorms were able to gain significant mid-level rotation which allowed them to generate very large hail. Hailstones as large as baseballs damaged multiple vehicles northwest of Shallowater (Lubbock County) along US Highway 84, while many other spots incu…
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 Hale 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.