253 flood insurance claims·$4.5M 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 Kendall 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk in Kendall County, where the NOAA Storm Events Database records 83 flash flood events and six deaths compared to just two standard flood events over the last 30 years. Historical events illustrate this hazard, such as the July 2005 event when a low-level jet streak drove training thunderstorms and near-record precipitable water levels over the Texas Hill Country, as well as the upper-level shortwave troughs that produced heavy rain and flash flooding in May 2023 and May 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood damage is not restricted to high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 165 claims averaging a $26,687 payout and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. However, properties in Zone X recorded 49 claims with an average payout of $26,216 and an average water depth of 19 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 10 claims with an average payout of $48,836 and a 12-inch average water depth. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists in both designated high-risk flood zones and lower-risk Zone X areas should pay close attention to these patterns, as properties outside traditional flood zones have experienced significant financial loss and standing water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Kendall County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
184 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 13 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 2002, with 53 claims and $1.2M paid, the year of Severe Storms 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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Kendall County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jul 2, 2025 |
| 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 | May 4, 2015 |
| Wildfires | Aug 30, 2011 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Tropical Storm Erin | Aug 14, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
85 since 1996: 83 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 31, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2025 | $5.0M |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2016 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | May 19, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 31, 2025. A frontal boundary moved into a moist airmass and generated thunderstorms. Some of these storms produced heavy rain. Two to four inches of rain fell in the Salado Creek basin in northern San Antonio. This rainfall led to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · May 28, 2025. An upper-level shortwave trough moved across a stationary front that was stretched across Central Texas. Some of these storms moved into South-Central Texas producing damaging wind gusts and large hail. There were also a few reports of heavy rain leading to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 4, 2025. Tropical Storm Barry moved into and dissipated over eastern Mexico. Moist air from the remnants of Barry moved northward into Texas. Precipitable water values over South-Central Texas increased to near record levels. A mid-level anticyclonic circulation developed and moved over Central Texas providing lift to generate thunderstorms. During the overnight period of July 3-4, a low-level jet streak set up over South…
Flash Flood · May 29, 2023. An upper level shortwave trough generated thunderstorms in a very moist airmass. Some of these storms produced locally 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 Kendall 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.