491 flood insurance claims·$10.2M paid·15 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 San Jacinto 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 weather events dominates the flood risk profile in San Jacinto County, accounting for 48 recorded events and 3 deaths over the last 30 years alongside tropical storms, hurricanes, and general floods. Recent activity includes widespread flash flooding, tornadoes, and wind damage from storms on April 29, 2024, and a derecho on May 16, 2024, that brought heavy rain and impassable streets.
National Flood Insurance Program records show varying impacts across different zones. Properties in Zone A account for the majority of claims with 334 filings, averaging an 9-inch water depth and $22,247 in payouts. Zone X properties recorded 85 claims with an average water depth of 13 inches and $22,510 payouts. Additional claims were filed in unknown zones (55 claims, averaging 4 inches of water) and unshaded Zone X areas (17 claims, averaging 2 inches of water).
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within FEMA Zone A, which has received the highest volume of flood insurance claims, as well as Zone X properties where recorded water depths during past floods have averaged over a foot.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of San Jacinto County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
351 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 1994, with 87 claims and $1.6M paid, the year of Severe Thunderstorms 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.
13 NOAA storm reports from San Jacinto County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
32 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 15 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Pauline Road Fire | Mar 19, 2025 |
| 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 |
| Tropical Storm Imelda | Sep 17, 2019 |
| Hurricane Harvey | Aug 23, 2017 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
53 since 1996: 48 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 2, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2017 | $350.0M · 3 killed |
| Flash Flood | Apr 30, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2015 | — |
— = 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 · 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.
Flash Flood · May 2, 2024. A series of disturbances moved across the area and produced flash flooding and severe thunderstorms.
Flash Flood · Oct 1, 2021. A cluster of showers and thunderstorms developed over SE TX during the morning of October 1, producing periods of heavy rain across the area. Heavy downpours resulted in several instances of street flooding making roads impassable.
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 San Jacinto 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.