232 flood insurance claims·$3.4M 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 Jackson 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 weather events dominates the historical flood profile of Jackson County, which recorded 31 flash flood events alongside tropical storms, standard floods, storm surges, and hurricanes over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include heavy rain and flash flooding from a slow-moving storm system in May 2023, as well as multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms that caused road closures across the area in July 2021.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks affect properties across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 144 filings averaging $16,362 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Meanwhile, Zone V properties experienced the most severe recorded inundation among high-claim categories, averaging 17 inches of water depth across 11 claims with an average payout of $20,954. Properties in Zone X, Shaded Zone X, and Unshaded Zone X also accumulated dozens of claims with average water depths between 1 and 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties in high-risk coastal Zone V areas where water depths reach significant averages, as well as those in Zone A where the vast majority of historical flood insurance claims have been filed.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
18% of Jackson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
189 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 1994, with 66 claims and $1.2M paid, the year of Severe Thunderstorms 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.
10 NOAA storm reports from Jackson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Beryl | Jul 5, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Tropical Storms Marco And Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Hurricane Hanna | Jul 25, 2020 |
| Hurricane Harvey | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Hurricane Ike | Sep 7, 2008 |
| Hurricane Gustav | Aug 27, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
40 since 1996: 31 flash floods, 2 river or area floods and 1 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 10, 2023 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2021 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Sep 13, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 22, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 12, 2020 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2017 | $100,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 14, 2025. Flash Flooding and funnel clouds were reported in Jackson county.
Flash Flood · May 10, 2023. A storm system moved into the area on the morning of the May 9, producing widespread heavy rain and some flash flooding through the morning of May 10.
Flash Flood · May 16, 2021. Strong thunderstorms resulted in Flash Flooding around the Matagorda Bay area. Isolated locations received up to 8-10 inches of rainfall.
Storm Surge/Tide · Sep 13, 2021. Nicholas formed on September 12 in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico, slowly advancing northeastward along the Middle Texas Coast. It eventually made landfall 10 miles west of Sargent just after midnight on September 14, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 75 mph. Heavy rain bands associated with Nicholas brought widespread rainfall totals of 6 to 10 inches to the Southeast Texas Coast, while strong wind gusts res…
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 Jackson 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.