1,489 flood insurance claims·$71.4M paid·7 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 Hays 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 dominates the flood history of Hays County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 126 flash flood events resulting in 15 deaths, alongside 12 general flood events and 1 tropical storm.
Recent events illustrate this pattern. On June 12, 2025, a mid-level shortwave trough combined with an abnormally moist airmass to produce efficient rain-producing thunderstorms that led to flash flooding. An earlier event on January 22, 2024, brought several rounds of locally heavy rain over three days driven by an upper-level trough and a stationary boundary across central Texas.
National Flood Insurance Program records show significant risk extending beyond designated high-risk areas. Zone A properties account for 1,015 claims with an average payout of $60,222 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Additionally, Zone X properties account for 399 claims with an average payout of $53,316 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in both designated high-risk flood zones and moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas should pay close attention to this flood risk given the high volume of historical claims and average water depths in both zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Hays County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,047 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 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 731 claims and $58.8M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds and Flooding and Severe 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.
41 NOAA storm reports from Hays County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1970, 7 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, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 22, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Oct 30, 2013 |
| Old Bastrop Highway Fire Complex | Mar 14, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
139 since 1996: 126 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 12, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 22, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 26, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 29, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 14, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 13, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 1, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 12, 2025. A mid-level shortwave trough moved over Texas and combined with an abnormally moist airmass to generate thunderstorms. These storms were very efficient rain producers dropping locally heavy rain that led to flash flooding. There were also a few severe thunderstorms.
Flash Flood · Jan 22, 2024. An upper-level trough remained nearly stationary over the western US resulting in southwesterly flow over Texas. A stationary boundary stretched across central Texas with anomalously moist air south of the boundary. A series of shortwave troughs moved through the upper pattern generating several rounds of locally heavy rain over three days. There was also some large hail.
Flash Flood · Oct 26, 2023. Thunderstorms developed along an outflow boundary in a very moist airmass. Storms were fed by strong low level winds. In addition to aiding buoyancy, these winds also contributed to significant low level wind shear. Some storms produced weak tornadoes and locally heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Sep 29, 2021. An upper level low moved over Texas and interacted with a warm, moist airmass generating thunderstorms. Some of these storms produced damaging wind gusts, large hail, and heavy rain that led to flash flooding. Additional thunderstorms developed during the evening of the 30th.
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 Hays 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.