878 flood insurance claims·$44.0M paid·10 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 Waller 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 floods and tropical storms dominate the flood history of Waller County, with the NOAA Storm Events Database recording 24 flash flood events—resulting in 1 death—and 5 tropical storm events over the last 30 years. Major historical impacts include Tropical Storm Harvey in August 2017, which produced catastrophic flooding across Southeast Texas, and Tropical Storm Nicholas in September 2021, which brought widespread heavy rainfall totals of 6 to 10 inches along with strong wind gusts. Additionally, localized heavy downpours from slow-moving frontal boundaries and clusters of thunderstorms have repeatedly produced street flooding and impassable roads, such as the events recorded in May 2019 and October 2021.
National Flood Insurance Program records demonstrate that flood losses extend across multiple zones, with 390 claims in Zone A averaging an average recorded water depth of 5 inches and a $55,369 payout, and 360 claims in Zone X averaging an average recorded water depth of 6 inches and a $72,615 payout. Additional claims occurred in unshaded Zone X (46 claims, average 7 inches, $40,286 payout), shaded Zone X (35 claims, average 9 inches, $30,113 payout), and unknown zones (47 claims, average 2 inches, $23,701 payout). Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within designated Special Flood Hazard Areas like Zone A, as well as properties in Zone X locations that have experienced significant historical payouts and standing water during heavy rain events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17% of Waller County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
471 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 2017, with 334 claims and $25.5M paid, the year of Hurricane Harvey.
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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Waller County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
29 federal disaster declarations since 1989, 10 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Beryl | Jul 5, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 26, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Tropical Storms Marco And Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Hurricane Harvey | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 22, 2016 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 17, 2016 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
29 since 1996: 24 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 13, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 9, 2019 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2017 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 25, 2017 | $350.0M |
| Flash Flood | Apr 18, 2016 | $6.7M · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Sep 13, 2021. Nicholas formed on September 12 in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico, slowly advancing northeastward along the Middle Texas Coast. It eventually made landfall 10 miles west of Sargent just after midnight on September 14, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 75 mph. Heavy rain bands associated with Nicholas brought widespread rainfall totals of 6 to 10 inches to the Southeast Texas Coast, while strong wind gusts res…
Flash Flood · Oct 1, 2021. A cluster of showers and thunderstorms developed over SE TX during the morning of October 1, producing periods of heavy rain across the area. Heavy downpours resulted in several instances of street flooding making roads impassable.
Flash Flood · May 9, 2019. Shortwave disturbances traveling across a slow-moving frontal boundary within a moist air mass allowed for the development of high rainfall producing storms.
Flash Flood · Aug 26, 2017. Harvey made landfall as a category 4 hurricane near Rockport, Texas during the evening of August 25th. The storm then weakened to a tropical storm and slowed, looping back and tracking over SE Texas then back over the Gulf of Mexico making a second landfall along the Louisiana coast during the early morning hours of August 30th. Over that 5 day period over Southeast Texas TS Harvey produced catastrophic 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 Waller 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.