278 flood insurance claims·$4.5M paid·7 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 Parker 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 thunderstorm complexes dominates the flood risk profile in Parker County, Texas. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 65 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, compared to 10 general flood events. Recent severe weather events include thunderstorms along a Pacific cold front on Christmas Eve in December 2024, and upper-level low systems that brought rounds of thunderstorms and flash flooding on October 24 and 25, 2025.
Federal Emergency Management Agency insurance data shows that flood losses extend across multiple zones, with the highest claim volume concentrated in specific areas. Zone A accounts for 173 claims with an average payout of $19,822 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 36 claims with an average payout of $31,281 and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. Additionally, Zone UNKNOWN accounts for 67 claims with an average payout of $11,994 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, while Zone X_SHADED and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 1 claim each with average payouts of $2,999 and $21,497, respectively. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and Zone X, where claim volumes and average water depths demonstrate consistent flood exposure.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
1% of Parker County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
175 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 7 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 1991, with 36 claims and $319,182 paid, the year of Severe Thunderstorms.
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.
15 NOAA storm reports from Parker County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 22, 2016 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 17, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 7, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Hurricane Ike | Sep 7, 2008 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
75 since 1996: 65 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Oct 24, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Dec 26, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Dec 24, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2021 | — |
| Flood | May 24, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2021 | $300,000 |
| Flood | Mar 7, 2016 | $8,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 7, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Oct 24, 2025. An upper-level low brought two main rounds of thunderstorms to North and Central Texas during the last week of October 2025. The first, and most severe, was a large storm complex on the evening of October 24, followed by isolated activity on the afternoon of October 25. Severe weather primarily consisted of thunderstorm wind damage and isolated instances of flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Dec 26, 2024. A meandering surface front provided a focus for thunderstorm development as a shortwave trough worked its way east through North and Central Texas on December 26. A few storms produced hail and localized flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Dec 24, 2024. Thunderstorms developed along a Pacific cold front as it and an upper level trough swept through the Plains on Christmas Eve 2024. The system produce a few severe storms across Central Texas and flash flooding in parts of North Texas. In addition, a brief EF-0 occurred in southwest Freestone County damaging 2 properties.
Flash Flood · May 31, 2021. A weakening line of thunderstorms Memorial Day morning, followed by a second line of storms that evening (which developed along an approaching cold front), led to instances of heavy rain and flooding across the region. One storm also produced minor wind damage.
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 Parker 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.