6 flood insurance claims·$99,026 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 Shelby 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 heavy showers and thunderstorms dominates the flood character of Shelby County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 49 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 6 general flood events and 2 tropical storms.
Recent events illustrate this recurring threat. Heavy rainfall from a stalled surface frontal boundary and upper-level disturbances caused flash flooding on January 23, 2024. Cell-training and significant bands of heavy showers produced additional flash flooding across the area on August 29, 2025, and a cluster of strong thunderstorms caused further flash flooding on June 1, 2024.
NFIP claim data shows historical payouts concentrated in specific hazard zones. Zone A recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $17,063 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Zone V recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $64,900 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $0 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Properties located within designated flood zones such as Zone A and Zone V, which account for the county's recorded insurance claims, should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
The worst year was 2008, with 1 claims and $64,900 paid, the year of Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike.
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.
24 NOAA storm reports from Shelby County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1966, 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 7, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Wildfires | Aug 30, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
57 since 1996: 49 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 23, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 11, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 6, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 29, 2025. Significant banding of heavy showers and thunderstorms with cell-training occurred on the morning of August 29th across East Texas and North Louisiana, posing the threat of flash flooding. A gradual increase in warm air advection and isentropic ascent was noted on the north side of a quasi-stationary frontal boundary and within a very moist and moderately unstable air mass. MUCAPE values ranged from 1000 to 2000 J…
Flash Flood · Jul 26, 2024. A broad complex of showers and thunderstorms with associated heavy rainfall developed across areas of Deep East Texas and West Central Louisiana by mid to late morning on July 26th. This occurred within an elongated axis of upper-level energy observed along much of the middle and upper Texas coast and up across interior areas of East Texas around the eastern flank of a broader mid-level trough over the Southern Pl…
Flash Flood · Jan 23, 2024. A deep upper-level trough axis became entrenched across the western U.S. early on January 23rd into the 24th, enhancing a deep southwesterly flow pattern across the Middle Red River Valley. Multiple disturbances aloft ejected northeast within the southwesterly flow and combined with a stalled surface frontal boundary to provide a nearly ideal environment for heavy rainfall across the Ark-La-Tex region. The axis of…
Flash Flood · Apr 9, 2024. A frontal boundary became stationary across the heart of the Ark-La-Tex region in vicinity of the Interstate 30 corridor on April 8th before slowly advancing southeast on April 9th. Concurrently, very moist southwest flow aloft resulting from a nearly cut-off low across the Desert Southwest provided for precipitable water values near 2 inches. Thunderstorms developed and gradually spread northward from Central int…
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 Shelby 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.