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FEMA flood zones · Texas

King County, Texas Flood Zone Map

1 federal flood & hurricane disasters

FEMA’s digital flood map shows no high- or moderate-risk zones in King County. That can mean the area was never studied in detail or has no digital map, not that it can’t flood; the county floodplain administrator can say which.

Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.

Coastal high risk (V, VE)FloodwayHigh risk (A, AE)Moderate (X, 500-year)Minimal (X)Undetermined (D)

Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around King 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.

Federal disasters

17 federal disaster declarations since 1993, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.

DisasterBegan
Severe Winter StormFeb 11, 2021
Severe Winter StormsFeb 11, 2021
Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And FloodingDec 26, 2015
Swenson FireApr 6, 2011
WildfiresApr 6, 2011
Eighty-two FireMar 14, 2008
WildfiresMar 14, 2008
Extreme Wildfire ThreatNov 27, 2005

Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.

Recorded flood events

5 since 1996: 3 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.

EventDateDamage
Tropical DepressionAug 17, 2007—
Flash FloodOct 15, 2006—
FloodSep 18, 1996—
Flash FloodSep 18, 1996—

— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

From the storm reports

Tropical Depression · Aug 17, 2007. Tropical Depression Erin, previously a tropical storm during landfall on the middle Texas coast early on the 16th, brought large amounts of rain to portions of west Texas. This rain fell primarily on the 17th and 18th of August on the South Plains and Rolling Plains before the system moved northeastward over Oklahoma. ||Erin maintained a defined circulation well after making landfall, and even strengthened signifi…

Flash Flood · Oct 15, 2006. A round of strong to severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall impacted the west Texas South Plains region on the 15th. Heavy rainfall during the pre-dawn hours caused flash flooding in Garza County, where a vehicle became stranded in a flooded playa lake. Local authorities conducted a high water rescue to remove the driver, and no injuries were reported.|A severe storm affected Plainview (Hale County) just before m…

Flood · Sep 18, 1996. Severe storms and floods hit the Low Rolling Plains late on the 17th into the 18th. Golfball-size hail was reported west of Guthrie (by the King County Sheriff's Office) and by the public at Pitchfork Ranch just west of the Dickens-King County border. Weak, brief tornadoes were reported by sheriff's offices; one was 15 miles west of Guthrie, another was 4 miles southwest of Guthrie, and the other was 8 miles wes…

National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

The zones you’ll see on the map

Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.

Cross-section of a river floodplainDiagram: a river valley. The floodway is the channel and the land beside it; the 1%-annual-chance flood surface (the base flood elevation) covers the valley floor as zone A or AE; a narrow band higher up is shaded X, the 0.2% floodplain; higher ground is X.0.2% CHANCE A YEAR (500-YEAR)BASE FLOOD ELEVATION · 1% A YEARXAEFloodwayAEX
  1. A / AE Inside the 1%-a-year floodplain: about a 26% chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. AE has a mapped base flood elevation; plain A does not.
  2. Floodway The channel and the land beside it that has to be kept clear enough to carry the flood. Building here is tightly limited.
  3. X shaded The 0.2% (500-year) floodplain, plus some levee-protected and very shallow flood areas.
  4. X Outside both lines. No federal requirement to insure, which is not the same as no risk.

Every flood zone code explained →

Flood insurance in King County

If a building in King 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.