5 flood insurance claims·$25,639 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 Sabine 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 heavy rainfall events dominates the flood risk profile in Sabine County, supplemented by occasional tropical systems and general floods. According to NOAA Storm Events Database records from the last 30 years, the county experienced 34 flash flood events, 3 hurricanes resulting in 1 death, 1 tropical storm, and 1 general flood. Severe weather patterns frequently produce these conditions, such as a strong upper-level low pressure system that triggered heavy rainfall and flash flooding on January 9, 2022. Similar atmospheric instability and moist air masses produced multiple flash flood events on May 9, 2021, and May 17, 2021, when showers and thunderstorms spread across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates historical payouts across different zones. Properties designated as Zone UNKNOWN recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $2,131 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Properties in Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $19,246 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay particular attention to properties located outside of traditionally mapped high-risk zones, as unshaded and unknown areas have demonstrated vulnerability to costly flood damage during severe weather events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 2 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 2012, with 1 claims and $19,246 paid.
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.
27 NOAA storm reports from Sabine County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 8 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 |
| Hurricane Harvey | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 7, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
39 since 1996: 34 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jan 9, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 17, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 9, 2021 | — |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Aug 27, 2020 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | May 19, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 21, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2017 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 30, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jan 9, 2022. A strong upper level low pressure system tracked east across the Red River Valley of Southern Oklahoma and North Texas during the afternoon of January 8th, before shifting across Northeast Texas into Southwest Arkansas during the early morning hours of the 9th. Ahead of this low, strong southerly low level winds rapidly transported low level moisture back north across the region, with large scale forcing and eleva…
Flash Flood · May 17, 2021. A closed upper low pressure system exited the Desert Southwest into the Southern Rockies/New Mexico during the morning of May 17th, with a shortwave trough rotating northeast ahead of the low across Central and Southeast Texas. A very moist air mass was already in place across Deep East Texas ahead of this disturbance, with periods of showers and thunderstorms containing locally heavy rainfall developing over Sout…
Flash Flood · May 9, 2021. Warm, humid, and unstable conditions were in place across the Four State Region on May 9th, ahead of a cold front and attendant shortwave trough that traversed the Southern Plains during the afternoon. Large scale forcing ahead of the trough increased during the afternoon, with scattered showers and thunderstorms developing near and ahead of the front across Southwest Arkansas, North Louisiana, and East Texas. Mod…
Hurricane (Typhoon) · Aug 27, 2020. Major Hurricane Laura tracked north northwest across the Central and Northern Gulf of Mexico from the Central Carribean Sea near Cuba, making landfall in Southwest Louisiana near Cameron around 1 am on August 27th as a strong Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 150 mph, and a minimum central pressure of 938 mb. Laura remained a hurricane as it tracked north across Southwest and Central Louisiana…
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 Sabine 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.