279 flood insurance claims·$2.2M paid·8 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 Kleberg 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 heavy summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Kleberg County, supplemented by tropical storms, storm surges, and coastal flooding. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 61 flash flood events, alongside 12 tropical storms, 12 storm surge or tide events, 11 coastal floods, 2 hurricanes, and 2 general floods. Recent activity includes heavy rainfall and flash flooding driven by deep tropical moisture during June 2025, as well as Tropical Storm Harold, which made landfall south of Baffin Bay as a 50 mph tropical storm in August 2023, producing both flash flooding and storm surge.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that flood risks affect properties across multiple zones. Unshaded Zone X recorded 148 claims with an average payout of $5,304 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone X accounts for 80 claims with a higher average payout of $19,786 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Shaded Zone X recorded 25 claims with an average payout of $3,379 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone A logged 22 claims averaging $10,905 with an average recorded water depth of 11 inches, while Zone D recorded 2 claims averaging $1,238 with an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone X with significant average water depths, Zone A properties facing standard flood hazards, and coastal or low-lying properties vulnerable to tropical systems and storm surges.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
88% of Kleberg County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
197 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 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 1980, with 103 claims and $445,350 paid, the year of Hurricane Allen.
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.
36 NOAA storm reports from Kleberg County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 8 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 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 22, 2016 |
| Tropical Storm Alex | Jun 27, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
100 since 1996: 61 flash floods, 2 river or area floods and 23 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 22, 2023 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Aug 22, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 22, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Nov 1, 2022 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Aug 21, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 19, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 16, 2025. During the second/third week of June, South Texas experienced an active and dynamic weather pattern that led to several impactful weather events, including heavy rainfall, flash flooding, thunderstorm wind damage, a weak tornado, and a waterspout. The unsettled conditions were driven by a combination of deep tropical moisture, persistent upper-level disturbances, and an unstable atmosphere. PWATs frequently exceed…
Flood · Jun 16, 2025. During the second/third week of June, South Texas experienced an active and dynamic weather pattern that led to several impactful weather events, including heavy rainfall, flash flooding, thunderstorm wind damage, a weak tornado, and a waterspout. The unsettled conditions were driven by a combination of deep tropical moisture, persistent upper-level disturbances, and an unstable atmosphere. PWATs frequently exceed…
Flash Flood · Aug 22, 2023. Tropical Storm Harold moved west across south Texas on the 22nd. An area of low pressure developed over the central Gulf of Mexico on the 21st. A large area of high pressure over the central United States into the northern Gulf Coast steered the system quickly westward toward the Middle Texas coast. The low strengthened into Tropical Storm Harold by the early morning hours of the 22nd. Harold increased in strength…
Storm Surge/Tide · Aug 22, 2023. Tropical Storm Harold moved west across south Texas on the 22nd. An area of low pressure developed over the central Gulf of Mexico on the 21st. A large area of high pressure over the central United States into the northern Gulf Coast steered the system quickly westward toward the Middle Texas coast. The low strengthened into Tropical Storm Harold by the early morning hours of the 22nd. Harold increased in strength…
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 Kleberg 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.