148 flood insurance claims·$3.7M paid·4 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 Medina 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 recurring heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk in Medina County, accounting for 98 out of 103 recorded flood events and 3 deaths over the last 30 years. Recent flash floods have been driven by slow-moving storms and cold fronts interacting with abnormally moist airmasses, such as events recorded in November 2024 and multiple occurrences in June 2025.
Federal flood insurance claims show payouts
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
29% of Medina County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
110 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 11 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 33 claims and $1.6M 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.
21 NOAA storm reports from Medina County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1993, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Alex | Jun 27, 2010 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Tropical Storm Erin | Aug 14, 2007 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 16, 2007 |
| Extreme Wildfire Threat | Nov 27, 2005 |
| Hurricane Rita | Sep 23, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
103 since 1996: 98 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 12, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 4, 2024 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Sep 3, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 28, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Sep 22, 2018 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 22, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 9, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 12, 2025. A mid-level shortwave trough moved over Texas and combined with an abnormally moist airmass to generate thunderstorms. These storms were very efficient rain producers dropping locally heavy rain that led to flash flooding. There were also a few severe thunderstorms.
Flash Flood · Nov 4, 2024. A cold front moved into a very warm, moist airmass and generated thunderstorms. Temperatures in the warm sector were near record highs when the front moved through. Some of the storms produced large hail and heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Sep 3, 2024. Convection formed in the vicinity of a stationary front over South-Central Texas. Thunderstorms developed in an anomalously moist airmass with weak steering flow. This led to slow moving, heavy rain producing cells and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · May 1, 2021. An upper level low over the Big Bend region combined with a surface low over South Texas to generate thunderstorms. The airmass in which these storms developed was very moist with precipitable water values above the 90th percentile of the long term record. 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 Medina 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.