68 flood insurance claims·$896,143 paid·4 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 Stephens 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 thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Stephens County, Texas. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 26 flash flood events and 2 general flood events, which resulted in 1 death. Severe weather and heavy rainfall are frequently driven by advancing cold fronts, upper-level troughs, and already saturated soils. For example, multiple rounds of storms in May 2016 caused flash flooding across the region, and a similar pattern of heavy rain and flooding occurred from successive thunderstorm lines on Memorial Day in May 2021.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims filed across multiple flood zones. Zone A accounts for the majority of claims with 52 filings, averaging $14,527 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $55,078 and an average water depth of 8 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 9 claims averaging $5,060 with an average water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 2 claims averaging $2,584 with an average water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A and Zone X, where claim frequencies and average payout amounts are highest.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Stephens County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
54 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 5 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 1996, with 24 claims and $149,780 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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Stephens County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 22, 2016 |
| Pk East Fire | Apr 16, 2011 |
| Pk West Fire | Apr 13, 2011 |
| Hohertz Fire | Apr 9, 2011 |
| Wildfires | Apr 6, 2011 |
| Breckenridge Fire | Apr 9, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
28 since 1996: 26 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2021 | $50,000 |
| Flood | May 30, 2016 | $100,000 · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2015 | — |
| Flood | May 9, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 9, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 8, 2015 | $30,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 31, 2021. A weakening line of thunderstorms Memorial Day morning, followed by a second line of storms that evening (which developed along an approaching cold front), led to instances of heavy rain and flooding across the region. One storm also produced minor wind damage.
Flood · May 30, 2016. Several disturbances in advance of a deepening upper level trough over the southwest states led to multiple rounds of showers and storms across North and Central TX. With wet soils already in place, flash flooding was the main weather concern during this time. However, with unstable air still in place, some storms were able to become severe with large hail and damaging winds.
Flash Flood · May 29, 2016. Several disturbances in advance of a deepening upper level trough over the southwest states led to multiple rounds of showers and storms across North and Central TX. With wet soils already in place, flash flooding was the main weather concern during this time. However, with unstable air still in place, some storms were able to become severe with large hail and damaging winds.
Flash Flood · May 26, 2015. For several days, a stalled cold front, combined with abundant moisture from the Gulf of Mexico combined to produce widespread rain and thunderstorms in Texas. Several rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms occurred during a four day period, producing flash flooding, and numerous reports of large hail. Tornadoes affected areas in central Texas, from near Lampasas to a deadly tornado in Milam County.
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 Stephens 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.