71 flood insurance claims·$2.0M 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 Wilson 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 driven by severe thunderstorms and tropical weather systems dominates the flood risk in Wilson County, TX, with NOAA records showing 70 flash flood events compared to two floods and two tropical storms over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall events are frequently produced when cold fronts, drylines, or upper-level troughs interact with warm, moist airmasses, as occurred during excessive rain episodes in June 2019 and September 2020. Tropical systems also impact the region, notably when Hurricane Harvey moved inland in August 2017.
Federal flood insurance claims data shows financial losses across multiple zones. Properties in high-risk Zone A recorded 36 claims with an average payout of $31,294 and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches. Meanwhile, unshaded Zone X properties experienced 18 claims with an average payout of $44,795 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Zone X properties recorded 13 claims with an average payout of $21,141 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Shaded Zone X properties saw 2 claims averaging $28,442 with an average water depth of 2 inches, and unknown zones recorded 2 claims averaging $7,600 with an average water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in high-risk Zone A and unshaded Zone X should pay the closest attention to these flood risks, as these areas have experienced the highest frequency of damage and substantial average water depths during heavy rain events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
36% of Wilson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
56 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 14 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 22 claims and $961,842 paid, the year of Tropical Storm Charley and Flooding 10/18/98.
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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Wilson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
17 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, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 22, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Tropical Storm Alex | Jun 27, 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.
74 since 1996: 70 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Oct 14, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 10, 2020 | $1.0M |
| Flash Flood | Jun 4, 2019 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 26, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 21, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 20, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 30, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 21, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Oct 14, 2021. A complicated weather pattern developed over South Central Texas when a dryline and cold front moved out of West Texas as an upper level low moved into the Central Plains. At the same time the remnants of Pacific Hurricane Pamela moved across northern Mexico. The airmass over the region was warm and moist with near record precipitable water values. This set up led to an excessive rain episode with considerable fla…
Flash Flood · Sep 10, 2020. A cold front moved into a warm, moist airmass over South Central Texas generating thunderstorms. Some of these storms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 4, 2019. An upper level shortwave trough triggered thunderstorms rooted in a very moist boundary layer with precipitable water values near 2.0 inches. Some of these storms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
Tropical Storm · Aug 26, 2017. Hurricane Harvey moved onshore as a Category 4 hurricane over San Jose Island east of Rockport during the late evening of August 25th. Harvey moved inland entering southern DeWitt County during the morning of August 26th as a Category 1 hurricane. It continued to weaken as it moved farther inland eventually reaching south central Gonzales County as a tropical storm during the late evening of August 26th. The cent…
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 Wilson 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.