84 flood insurance claims·$2.0M paid·6 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 Starr 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 dominates the local flood profile, driven by 49 recorded flash flood events compared to 9 general floods and 2 tropical storms over the last 30 years. Recent events illustrate these hazards, such as an El Niño-driven coastal low that brought steady, heavy rains in November 2023, and a localized thunderstorm in April 2023 that caused flooding in the Las Lomas area near John & Olive Hinojosa Elementary School. Furthermore, historic seasonal rainfall from showers and thunderstorms dropped 8 to nearly 19 inches across the region in March 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that risk extends across multiple zones. Zone X recorded 34 claims with an average water depth of 2 inches and an average payout of $42,289, while Zone A recorded 32 claims with an average water depth of 10 inches and an average payout of $32,264. Additionally, Zone UNKNOWN logged 11 claims with an average water depth of 6 inches, and Zone X_UNSHADED logged 7 claims with an average water depth of 5 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in both designated high-risk zones and moderate-to-low risk Zone X properties should pay close attention to these patterns, as properties outside traditional flood zones have experienced significant claims and water accumulation.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
18% of Starr County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
39 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 6 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 2008, with 16 claims and $292,751 paid, the year of Hurricane Dolly, 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.
28 NOAA storm reports from Starr County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 26, 2025 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Hurricane Hanna | Jul 25, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Hurricane Alex | Jun 30, 2010 |
| Tropical Storm Alex | Jun 27, 2010 |
| Hurricane Ike | Sep 7, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
60 since 1996: 49 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 27, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Nov 12, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 10, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2022 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 3, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2020 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2020 | $25,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Jul 25, 2020 | $32.5M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 27, 2025. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms pummeled the Lower Rio Grande Valley, especially during the afternoon and overnight hours of March 27th into early on March 28th, resulting in historic seasonal rainfall and widespread flash and areal flooding across the RGV. Total rainfall ranged from 8 to nearly 19 inches based on trusted observations, with 10 inches or more falling across some of the highest populate…
Flood · Nov 12, 2023. A classic El Nino atmospheric setup, which included a robust subtropical jet stream aided by a slow-moving upper level disturbance that moved along the U.S. Mexico border and tapped into the jet, developed a surface coastal low/trough along and east of the Lower Texas coast beginning on November 9th/10th. The situation continued through November 13th before the upper-level system moved east. The steady, locally…
Flood · Apr 10, 2023. One lone thunderstorm travelled across southern Starr County the afternoon of April 10th. Social media pictures showed damage to a few sheds with metal roofs, a large metal structure, and a couple of large tree branches that were snapped between Rio Grande City and Garciasville. There was also a report of flooding in the Las Lomas area near John & Olive Hinojosa Elementary School.
Flash Flood · May 24, 2022. A strong 500mb shortwave aided in the development of two thunderstorm complexes that impacted Deep South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley on May 23rd and 24th. The first complex began shortly after 6 PM in Zapata County and inched southeastward across the region before becoming nearly stationary in Cameron and Willacy Counties around 2 AM on the morning of the 24th. This lead to numerous reports of flooding and sev…
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 Starr 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.