346 flood insurance claims·$10.1M paid·12 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 Polk 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 driven by severe weather dominates the flood history of Polk County, accounting for 45 out of 51 total flood events recorded by the NOAA Storm Events Database over the last 30 years, alongside tropical storms, hurricanes, and general floods. Recent impacts are documented in NOAA narratives, including a series of disturbances in January 2024 that caused widespread home flooding, numerous high water rescues, and a fatality, as well as a derecho and heavy rain events in May 2024 that brought widespread flash flooding and significant cumulative damages.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrates that flood risks extend across multiple zones. Properties in high-risk Zone A account for 189 claims with an average payout of $38,987 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Meanwhile, moderate-to-low risk Zone X properties have recorded 131 claims with an average payout of $44,817 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches, alongside 20 claims in unshaded Zone X averaging $16,263 with an average water depth of 8 inches, and 6 claims in unknown zones averaging $7,748 with an average water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in both designated high-risk flood zones and lower-risk Zone X areas, as historical claims and significant average water depths show that properties outside of traditional high-risk zones frequently experience costly flood damage.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Polk County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
209 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 8 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 2024, with 70 claims and $4.0M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding and Hurricane Beryl.
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.
10 NOAA storm reports from Polk County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 12 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Beryl | Jul 5, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 26, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Tropical Storms Marco And Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 10, 2018 |
| Hurricane Harvey | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 22, 2016 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
51 since 1996: 45 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 28, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 23, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 2, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2024 | $3.1M |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2017 | $300.0M |
| Flash Flood | Apr 30, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 29, 2024. Evening through overnight storms produced a lot of flash flooding, a couple tornadoes, some winds damage and some hail.
Flash Flood · Apr 28, 2024. Evening through overnight storms produced a lot of flash flooding, a couple tornadoes, some winds damage and some hail.
Flash Flood · Jan 23, 2024. A series of disturbances moved across the area resulting in numerous flash flood events that resulted in the flooding of many homes, extensive high water rescues, and a flood-related fatality.
Flash Flood · May 16, 2024. On the evening of May 16, a derecho moved into SE TX. This resulted in extensive wind damage across much of the Greater Houston area, including much of Downtown Houston. Maximum wind gusts were estimated to have reached over 100 mph. Additionally, the system produced two tornadoes and widespread flash flooding. Power outages resulting from the derecho lasted multiple days for hundreds of thousands of people.
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 Polk 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.