163 flood insurance claims·$3.6M 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 Val Verde 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 slow-moving thunderstorms dominates the flood risk in Val Verde County, accounting for the vast majority of historical flood events and all recorded fatalities over the last 30 years. NOAA records document persistent flash flooding driven by slow-moving storms and moist airmasses, such as events in August 2022, October 2023, September 2024, and August 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, indicating that flood risk extends beyond designated high-risk areas. Properties in Zone X account for 83 claims with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches and an average payout of $30,170. Properties in Zone A account for 60 claims with an average recorded water depth of 7 inches and an average payout of $32,000. Additional claims are recorded in shaded Zone X, unshaded Zone X, and unknown zones, with average water depths ranging from 1 to 2 inches and average payouts between $4,388 and $21,472.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties in both high-risk Zone A and moderate-to-low risk Zone X, where historical claims demonstrate that significant water depths and property damage can occur during heavy rainfall events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
20% of Val Verde County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
75 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 1998, with 72 claims and $2.2M paid, the year of Tropical Storm Charley.
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.
12 NOAA storm reports from Val Verde County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1993, 3 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 | Sep 10, 2018 |
| Wildfires | Apr 6, 2011 |
| Hurricane Alex | Jun 30, 2010 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Extreme Wildfire Threat | Nov 27, 2005 |
| Hurricane Rita | Sep 23, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
151 since 1996: 129 flash floods and 21 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 1, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 3, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 25, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 22, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 17, 2021 | — |
| Flood | May 25, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 4, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 1, 2025. A line of thunderstorms developed along a cold front in Central Texas and moved southward into South-Central Texas. Slow moving storms led to locally heavy rain that resulted in isolated flash flooding. One storm produced damaging wind gusts.
Flash Flood · Sep 3, 2024. Convection formed in the vicinity of a stationary front over South-Central Texas. Thunderstorms developed in an anomalously moist airmass with weak steering flow. This led to slow moving, heavy rain producing cells and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Oct 25, 2023. Thunderstorms developed along an outflow boundary in a very moist airmass. Storms were fed by strong low level winds. In addition to aiding buoyancy, these winds also contributed to significant low level wind shear. Some storms produced weak tornadoes and locally heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 30, 2022. A mid to upper level low moved over a warm, moist airmass in South Central Texas and generated slow moving thunderstorms. Some of these storms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
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 Val Verde 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.