1,981 flood insurance claims·$19.8M paid·16 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 Patricio 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 and summer thunderstorms dominates San Patricio County, accounting for 102 of the 130 total flood events recorded in the NOAA Storm Events Database over the last 30 years, alongside 15 general floods resulting in 2 deaths, 7 storm surge or tide events, 6 tropical storms, 4 coastal floods, and 2 hurricanes.
Recent occurrences illustrate these vulnerabilities. A broad area of low pressure and a stalled surface boundary on September 4, 2024, produced over 8 inches of rainfall and multiple flooded roads in the Aransas Pass area. Additionally, Tropical Storm Harold moved west across South Texas on August 22, 2023, making landfall south of Baffin Bay as a 50 mph tropical storm. Coastal flood risks were also highlighted on November 3, 2024, when increasing winds and wave heights prompted a Coastal Flood Advisory.
NFIP claims data reflects distinct impacts across flood zones. Zone A accounts for 860 claims with an average payout of $10,884 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties have recorded 456 claims with an average payout of $26,918 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, and Zone V properties recorded 49 claims with an average payout of $22,995 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Coastal property owners and residents in designated high-risk zones should pay the closest attention to these hazards.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
38% of San Patricio County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,473 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 3 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 2017, with 330 claims and $5.1M paid, the year of Hurricane Harvey.
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.
51 NOAA storm reports from San Patricio County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
34 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 16 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Welder Fire | Mar 4, 2025 |
| Hurricane Beryl | Jul 5, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Tropical Storms Marco And Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Hurricane Hanna | Jul 25, 2020 |
| Hurricane Harvey | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Tropical Storm Alex | Jun 27, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
136 since 1996: 102 flash floods, 15 river or area floods and 11 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 4, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Nov 3, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 22, 2023 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 9, 2023 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 19, 2021 | — |
| Flood | May 16, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 4, 2024. A broad area of low pressure collocated with a stalled surface boundary along the coast provided multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms over South Texas, with greatest rainfall and flooding reports over the Coastal Bend. Rainfall amounts were observed over 8 for the event with multiple roads flooded in the Aransas Pass area.
Coastal Flood · Nov 3, 2024. While tidal levels were predicted to barely touch 1.8-2.0 ft MSL, increasing winds helped increase wave heights. At the same time, we saw that 8 second periods were likely to reach the coastline. This resulted in greater chances for minor coastal flooding, leading us to keep a Coastal Flood Advisory in place through the next couple weeks following the 11/3/2024 event.
Tropical Storm · Aug 22, 2023. Tropical Storm Harold moved west across south Texas on the 22nd. An area of low pressure developed over the central Gulf of Mexico on the 21st. A large area of high pressure over the central United States into the northern Gulf Coast steered the system quickly westward toward the Middle Texas coast. The low strengthened into Tropical Storm Harold by the early morning hours of the 22nd. Harold increased in strength…
Flash Flood · May 16, 2023. Slow moving thunderstorms produced locally heavy rainfall across the Coastal Bend during the late morning hours. Street flooding occurred in Corpus Christi and Portland.
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 Patricio 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.