40 flood insurance claims·$1.6M 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 Van Zandt 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 Van Zandt County, accounting for 39 events and one death over the last 30 years alongside 12 general flood events. Recent NOAA storm records illustrate this hazard, including severe weather systems producing flash flooding across the region in April 2024, followed by successive thunderstorm complexes and heavy rainfall events in late May and early June 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage occurs across multiple flood zones. Zone A claims represent the highest impact with 21 recorded claims averaging $69,038 in payouts and an average recorded water depth of 24 inches. Properties in Zone X also face meaningful risk, accounting for 13 claims with an average payout of $36,375 and an average recorded water depth of 20 inches, while unshaded Zone X and unknown zones recorded fewer claims with lower average payouts and shallower water depths.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within FEMA Zone A and Zone X, where historical claims demonstrate a pattern of significant structural water depths and higher average financial losses from flooding.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
16% of Van Zandt County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
25 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 18 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 2015, with 6 claims and $101,963 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds and Flooding and Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, 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.
20 NOAA storm reports from Van Zandt County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1989, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 26, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 17, 2016 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 26, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Hurricane Ike | Sep 7, 2008 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
51 since 1996: 39 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2024 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 26, 2024 | $300,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 3, 2024 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 3, 2024 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 22, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 22, 2022 | $500,000 |
| Flood | Mar 9, 2016 | $8,000 |
| Flood | Mar 9, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 28, 2024. On the heels of the May 27th evening hail event, another batch of thunderstorms developed near the Red River during the overnight hours as a shortwave trough moved through the Plains. These storms eventually grew upscale into an organized complex, diving southeast early on the morning of May 28. An intense bow echo caused widespread wind damage from the northern parts of DFW, through the eastern parts of DFW and i…
Flash Flood · Apr 26, 2024. A shortwave trough, dryline, and Pacific front all worked together to produce multiple rounds of thunderstorms Friday April 26 through Sunday April 28. All modes of severe weather took place across the region, along with multiple instances of flash flooding. 11 tornadoes occurred across McLennan, Hill, and Navarro counties on April 26th, and another 4 tornadoes occurred in Milam, Limestone and Freestone counties o…
Flash Flood · Jun 3, 2024. Upper level disturbances interacted with leftover surface outflow boundaries from nocturnal MCSs and allowed for scattered strong to severe storms across the region each afternoon from June 1st to June 3rd. A combination of hail, damaging winds, and flash flooding occurred, but an EF-U tornado also occurred in Henderson County on the 3rd. One life was lost June 3rd in Henderson County due to a falling tree in stra…
Flash Flood · Aug 22, 2022. A slow-moving upper trough combined with a stalling front, and a large swath of tropical moisture, to produce record and near-record rainfall across parts of North Texas late August 21 through August 22. Considerable flooding occurred across Dallas County after upwards of 15 inches of rain fell in some areas. Numerous roads, vehicles, homes, buildings and more were flooded and heavily damaged by this event. Damage…
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 Van Zandt 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.