60 flood insurance claims·$683,892 paid·5 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 Real 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 storms dominates the flood risk in Real County, accounting for 99 recorded events and four deaths over the last 30 years, compared to just one standard flood event. Severe weather events, such as the flash floods driven by tropical moisture and training thunderstorms in July 2025, illustrate how rapidly heavy precipitation can accumulate across the Texas Hill Country.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas. Zone A has accumulated the highest number of claims with 42 filings, averaging $13,616 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Meanwhile, unshaded Zone X properties have recorded an average water depth of 28 inches across 10 claims, with average payouts of $15,247. Additional claims are distributed across unknown zones, Zone X, and shaded Zone X.
Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties in designated Zone A high-risk areas, as well as those in unshaded Zone X locations experiencing significant average water depths, should pay the most attention to flood insurance and mitigation.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
21% of Real County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
53 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 9 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 1998, with 19 claims and $328,976 paid, the year of Tropical Storm Charley.
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.
29 NOAA storm reports from Real County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1993, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jul 2, 2025 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 10, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 16, 2007 |
| Extreme Wildfire Threat | Nov 27, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
100 since 1996: 99 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 23, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 31, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 15, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 7, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 15, 2025. A mesoscale convective vortex developed over northern Mexico and sent an outflow boundary into South-Central Texas. Thunderstorms in this complex produced locally heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 4, 2025. Tropical Storm Barry moved into and dissipated over eastern Mexico. Moist air from the remnants of Barry moved northward into Texas. Precipitable water values over South-Central Texas increased to near record levels. A mid-level anticyclonic circulation developed and moved over Central Texas providing lift to generate thunderstorms. During the overnight period of July 3-4, a low-level jet streak set up over South…
Flash Flood · Jul 23, 2024. An upper-level trough moved across a stationary front and a very moist airmass. This combination generated thunderstorms. Some of these storms produced heavy rainfall that led to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 31, 2022. A mid to upper level low moved over a warm, moist airmass in South Central Texas and generated slow moving thunderstorms. Some of these storms produced 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 Real 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.