Insured flood losses in the State of Texas have risen dramatically since 1978, culminating with Hurricane Harvey in September 2017. Flood damage is measured as the total dollar amount (contents + building damage) paid out per household through insurance claims made from 1978 through the end of 2017 (in 2018 dollars) under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Since 1978, approximately 316,336 claims have been made totaling $16,878,563,071 in insured flood loss1 in Texas.
Click and drag or move the slider bar to zoom in on the graph below to explore insured flood loss in the State of Texas since 1978.
Most flood-related damages in Texas have occurred due to heavy rainfall driven by tropical cyclones or complex thunderstorm systems. Stalled tropical cyclones account for several of the most damaging events historically, the most notable of which include Tropical Storms Claudette (1979) and Allison (2001), and Hurricane Harvey (2017). All three of these events produced record-setting rainfall. Substantial damage, such as that observed during Hurricane Ike (2008), can also be attributed to storm surge flooding.
Below is a list of the Top 10 most damaging events in the State of Texas ranked in terms of total insured loss (in 2018 dollars).
| Rank | Event | Insured Loss | National Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hurricane Harvey (2017) | $9,126,136,931 | 3 |
| 2 | Hurricane Ike (2008) | $3,151,784,815 | 4 |
| 3 | Tropical Storm Allison (2001) | $1,566,764,962 | 7 |
| 4 | Tropical Storm Claudette (1979) | $509,461,387 | 21 |
| 5 | Memorial Day Flood (2015) | $496,668,531 | 22 |
| 6 | Tax Day Flood (2016) | $493,324,417 | 23 |
| 7 | October 1994 Flood | $368,745,106 | 27 |
| 8 | Hurricane Alicia (1983) | $300,997,324 | 30 |
| 9 | October 1998 Flood | $221,496,962 | 43 |
| 10 | September 1979 Flood | $162,857,147 | 54 |
The majority of historical damage has occurred along the Texas coast, although several areas along the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio - the region known as “Flash Flood Alley” - also stand out. Many of the top-damaged areas are concentrated in Southeast Texas, specifically in communities in and around the Houston-Galveston and Beaumont-Port Arthur Regions.
Zoom in on the map below to explore where flood damage has occurred historically. Insured flood damage is aggregated by the 2010 Census Block Groups.
This research was funded by the Texas General Land Office Project No. 19-181-000-B574.
Recommended Citation: Blessing, R.B., Sebastian, A., Highfield, W.E., Brody, S.D., Texas Historic Insured Flood Loss. Texas A&M University, 01 April 2019, http://www.texascoastalatlas.com/statemap/. Accessed [date]
It is important to note that NFIP claims only account for insured loss, but do not represent uninsured damages that may have also occurred during historical flood events.↩
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