15 flood insurance claims·$104,656 paid·6 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 Karnes 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 risk profile in Karnes County, which recorded 75 flash flood events alongside 17 general flood events and 2 tropical storms over the last 30 years. This activity is driven by meteorological patterns such as upper-level troughs and lows acting on moist, unstable airmasses to produce slow-moving lines of storms with locally heavy rain. For instance, an upper-level trough generated slow-moving thunderstorms that produced flash flooding on May 13, 2023, while a separate upper-level low caused local flooding on May 10, 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that property owners in high-risk Zone A face the highest average impact, recording 6 claims with an average payout of $16,012 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $6,634 and an average water depth of 1 inch, and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 2 claims averaging a $4,694 payout with 0 inches of recorded water depth. Consequently, homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A should pay the most attention to flood risk, as these properties experience the highest average payouts and water depths during flood events.
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 5 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 1981, with 4 claims and $10,730 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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Karnes County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Hurricane Harvey | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Extreme Wildfire Threat | Nov 27, 2005 |
| Hurricane Rita | Sep 23, 2005 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Claudette | Jul 15, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
94 since 1996: 75 flash floods and 17 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 10, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 14, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 26, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 21, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 21, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 13, 2023. An upper level trough moved over a moist, unstable airmass and generated thunderstorms. Storms initially formed over the higher terrain in Mexico and moved across the Rio Grande into Texas. Some storms produced damaging wind gusts. Storms eventually congealed into a slow-moving line that produce locally heavy rain leading to flash flooding.
Flood · May 10, 2023. An upper level low generated thunderstorms in a warm, moist airmass. Some of these storms produced locally heavy rain leading to local flooding.
Flash Flood · Oct 14, 2021. A complicated weather pattern developed over South Central Texas when a dryline and cold front moved out of West Texas as an upper level low moved into the Central Plains. At the same time the remnants of Pacific Hurricane Pamela moved across northern Mexico. The airmass over the region was warm and moist with near record precipitable water values. This set up led to an excessive rain episode with considerable fla…
Flash Flood · Jul 8, 2021. An area of low pressure over South Texas generated thunderstorms that moved into South Central Texas. Some of these storms produced heavy rain that led to 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 Karnes 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.