936 flood insurance claims·$15.6M paid·3 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 Taylor 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 thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Taylor County, Texas, accounting for 78 events and 1 death over the last 30 years alongside 16 general flood events and 1 tropical depression. Recent weather patterns illustrate this hazard, including redeveloping thunderstorms driven by a stationary front, surface dryline, and upper-level low in April 2025, as well as heavy rainfall from thunderstorms that caused localized flash flooding on June 11, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood impacts extend across multiple zones, with the vast majority of claims concentrated in Zone A at 769 claims with an average payout of $21,086 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Properties in moderate-to-low risk zones also experience damaging water accumulation. Specifically, Zone X recorded 51 claims with an average payout of $32,059 and an average water depth of 8 inches, Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 43 claims averaging $26,572 with a 4-inch average depth, Zone D recorded 39 claims averaging $14,474 with a 3-inch average depth, and Zone X_SHADED recorded 23 claims averaging $23,367 with a 6-inch average depth.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, which bears the heaviest historical claim volume, while remaining aware that properties in various designations of Zone X also face significant flood depths during intense rain events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Taylor County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
835 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 4 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 2002, with 403 claims and $11.6M paid, the year of Severe Storms 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.
25 NOAA storm reports from Taylor County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1981, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Mesquite Heat Fire | May 18, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Tuscola Fire | Mar 5, 2009 |
| Rhodes Ranch Fire | Feb 27, 2009 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Tropical Storm Erin | Aug 14, 2007 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 16, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
95 since 1996: 78 flash floods and 16 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 7, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 2, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Oct 24, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 19, 2025. The combination of a stationary front, surface dryline and an upper level low pressure system to the west resulted in many severe thunderstorms developing on the afternoon and evening along the stationary front on April 19th. Also, moderate to strong instability and strong vertical wind shear helped with the severe storm development. The severe storms produced very large hail and damaging winds and a few tornadoes…
Flash Flood · Jun 11, 2025. Thunderstorms producing heavy rainfall resulted in flooding across portions of the Big Country. Also, localized flash flooding was reported on June 11th.
Flash Flood · Jun 8, 2025. The combination of a strong upper level area of low pressure and a cold front resulted in numerous severe thunderstorms across the Big Country during the late afternoon and night time hours. Also, extreme surface instability and strong wind shear helped produce supercell thunderstorms and significant severe weather. The severe storms produced very large hail and intense damaging winds including significant wind da…
Flash Flood · Jun 11, 2024. A few thunderstorms produced damaging winds in Runnels and Sutton counties and localized flash flooding in Taylor 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 Taylor 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.