22,715 flood insurance claims·$1.2B paid·13 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 Jefferson 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 slow-moving summer thunderstorms and troughs dominates the flood profile of Jefferson County, Texas, backed by 105 flash flood events and 10 deaths recorded over the last 30 years compared to fewer than 15 total standard flood, coastal flood, storm surge, and tropical storm events. Recent weather patterns illustrate this frequent hazard; for instance, an inverted trough slowly moved across southeast Texas on July 25, 2025, bringing heavy rain and flooding to the county, following similar heavy rainfall and isolated flooding caused by slow-moving troughs and upper-level disturbances on June 11 and June 16, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend well beyond high-risk coastal zones, with thousands of claims filed across moderate and minimal risk areas as well. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone X accounts for 6,800 claims averaging $68,824 with an average recorded water depth of 5 inches, while Zone X Shaded properties logged 5,932 claims averaging $79,163 with an average depth of 3 inches, and high-risk Zone A properties saw 5,110 claims averaging $87,042 with a 4-inch average depth. Consequently, both waterfront property owners and residents in mapped Zone X and Zone X Shaded designations should pay close attention to flood preparedness given the historical frequency of intense rainfall and severe claims.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
67% of Jefferson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
15,631 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 2017, with 7,338 claims and $773.4M paid, the year of Hurricane Harvey.
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.
12 NOAA storm reports from Jefferson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
31 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 13 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 |
| Hurricane Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Tropical Storms Marco And Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Tropical Storm Imelda | Sep 17, 2019 |
| Hurricane Harvey | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Wildfires | Aug 30, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
119 since 1996: 105 flash floods, 8 river or area floods and 5 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 25, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 12, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2024 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 25, 2025. An inverted trough slowly moved across southeast Texas. Heavy rain caused flooding in Jefferson County and a thunderstorm burned a home in Jasper County.
Flash Flood · Jun 24, 2025. A slow moving thunderstorm in Beaumont produced isolated flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 16, 2025. An inverted trough slowly moved across the coast of Louisiana and into southeast Texas. Numerous showers and storms resulted causing isolated flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 12, 2025. Multiple upper level disturbances traversed the region causing severe storms and flooding in southeast Texas.
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 Jefferson 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.