28 flood insurance claims·$382,770 paid·10 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 Houston 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 thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Houston County, supported by 34 recorded flash flood events alongside tropical storms and hurricanes over the last 30 years. Localized events are driven by slow-moving showers and thunderstorms, such as those that produced early morning flash flooding in the Grapeland area in June 2021, as well as clusters of storms along lower-level boundaries in May 2017.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims distributed across multiple zones. Zone X recorded 13 claims with an average payout of $29,478 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 10 claims with an average payout of $1,502 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone A registered 3 claims with an average payout of $5,010 and an average water depth of 0 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN logged 2 claims averaging $7,503 with an average water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties in Zone X and Zone A should pay close attention to these risks, as localized heavy rainfall from slow-moving summer thunderstorms frequently generates flash flooding outside of major tropical systems.
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 1993, with 6 claims and $10,091 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Houston County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
29 federal disaster declarations since 1989, 10 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 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 22, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
39 since 1996: 34 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2021 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 24, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 1, 2021. A slow moving and back building band of showers and thunderstorms produced early morning flash flooding in the Grapeland area of Houston County.
Flash Flood · May 28, 2017. Thunderstorms clustering upon a lower level boundary moving out of central Texas produced wind damage and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 24, 2017. Scattered thunderstorms slowly moving across Houston County put down high enough rainfall rates to induce localized flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Apr 2, 2017. A storm system produced large hail, strong winds, a tornado and flash flooding.
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 Houston 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.