71 flood insurance claims·$1.7M paid·8 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 Washington 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 weather events dominates the flood profile of Washington County, Texas, backed by 41 recorded flash flood events and 5 deaths over the last 30 years, alongside 4 tropical storm events. Recent history highlights this severe threat, such as the series of disturbances in January 2024 that resulted in numerous flash flood events, the flooding of many homes, extensive high-water rescues, and a flood-related fatality.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend significantly outside traditionally mapped high-risk areas. Properties in Zone X experienced the highest claim volume and severity with 37 claims, an average payout of $40,877, and an average recorded water depth of 38 inches. Zone A properties recorded 18 claims with an average payout of $20,358 and an average water depth of 7 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 9 claims with an average payout of $16,905 and an average water depth of 19 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $3,949 and an average water depth of 1 inch, and Zone V recorded 1 claim with a $5,500 payout and an average water depth of 5 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone X, which accounted for the vast majority of claims and the deepest average water levels, demonstrating that significant flood risks exist outside of standard high-risk flood zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
32% of Washington County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
28 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 23 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 2016, with 37 claims and $1.4M 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Washington County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1993, 8 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 |
| Hurricane Harvey | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 22, 2016 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 17, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
45 since 1996: 41 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 31, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 29, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2017 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 25, 2017 | $150.0M |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2016 | $10.0M · 5 killed |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 24, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jan 24, 2024. A series of disturbances moved across the area resulting in numerous flash flood events that resulted in the flooding of many homes, extensive high water rescues, and a flood-related fatality.
Flash Flood · Oct 31, 2018. Strong damaging wind gusts and one tornado occurred in association with the passage of a squall line of thunderstorms.
Flash Flood · Mar 29, 2018. A line of thunderstorms produced some wind damage, flash flooding and a tornado.
Flash Flood · Aug 27, 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 Washington 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.