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Cameron County, TX flood insurance claims history
7,061 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Cameron County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $184.7M on them. The worst year was 2008 with 1,599 claims. Cameron County ranks #9 of 217 in Texas by claim count.
At a glance
- 74% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
- 21% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Dolly (2008), which paid $22.1M here.
- Flood claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
- More flood claims than 96% of the 217 Texas counties with any claims on file — and more than all 2 of its neighbors.
- ZIP 78550 has the most claims in the county (1,806, 26%). Check your ZIP →
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Flood claims by year
Claims by year of loss, 1978–2026. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.
Biggest flood events in Cameron County
| Flood event (FEMA name) | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Dolly | 1,482 | $22.1M | $15K | 2008 |
| Hurricane Allen | 996 | $8.2M | $8K | 1980 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 416 | $5.7M | $14K | 1991 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 290 | $610K | $2K | 1984 |
| Hurricane Hanna | 151 | $1.9M | $12K | 2020 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 53 | $47K | $884 | 1999 |
| Hurricane Ike | 41 | $67K | $2K | 2008 |
| Fall severe storms | 28 | $556K | $20K | 2015 |
| Hurricane Harvey | 12 | $0 | $0 | 2017 |
| Heavy rains (FEMA general label) | 5 | $35K | $7K | 2002 |
| Hurricane Francine | 4 | $32K | $8K | 2024 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 4 | $2K | $486 | 1979 |
49% of claims here fall under these 12 entries. “FEMA general label” groups many separate floods under one name; the rest of the claims have no event name.
Claims by flood zone
Not sure what the zone letters mean? Flood zones explained →
| Flood zone at rating | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR) | 1,404 | $20.3M | $14K |
| Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30) | 272 | $1.6M | $6K |
| Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X) | 4,752 | $157.0M | $33K |
| Zone not recorded | 633 | $5.8M | $9K |
What caused the flooding
| Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA) | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt | 4,983 | 71% |
| Tidal water overflow (storm surge) | 993 | 14% |
| Other causes | 581 | 8% |
| Stream, river or lake overflow | 398 | 6% |
| Not recorded | 98 | 1% |
| Alluvial fan overflow | 4 | 0% |
Flood claims by ZIP code in Cameron County
32 ZIP codes in Cameron County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Cameron County.
| 78550 | 1,806 | $62.0M | 26% | 38 | 2026 |
| 78597 | 1,135 | $10.2M | 16% | 44 | 2025 |
| 78552 | 1,119 | $62.4M | 16% | 32 | 2025 |
| 78578 | 587 | $3.3M | 8% | 31 | 2025 |
| 78521 | 526 | $6.7M | 7% | 38 | 2025 |
| 78586 | 515 | $11.0M | 7% | 32 | 2026 |
| 78520 | 342 | $3.9M | 5% | 34 | 2024 |
| 78559 | 335 | $11.7M | 5% | 20 | 2025 |
| 78593 | 158 | $6.6M | 2% | 13 | 2025 |
| 78526 | 126 | $981K | 2% | 23 | 2026 |
| 78583 | 108 | $2.3M | 2% | 20 | 2026 |
| 105 | $754K | 1% | 6 | 1988 | |
| 78566 | 81 | $973K | 1% | 20 | 2026 |
| 78535 | 36 | $1.1M | 1% | 7 | 2025 |
| 78575 | 26 | $62K | 0% | 11 | 2024 |
| 78551 | 13 | $233K | 0% | 5 | 2008 |
| 78523 | 10 | $87K | 0% | 3 | 1983 |
| 78553 | 9 | $55K | 0% | 1 | 1991 |
| 78522 | 5 | $71K | 0% | 4 | 2008 |
| 78568 | 5 | $123K | 0% | 4 | 2008 |
| 78501 | 2 | $6K | 0% | 2 | 1991 |
| 78569 | 2 | $6K | 0% | 2 | 2019 |
| 77518 | 1 | $14K | 0% | 1 | 1998 |
| 78572 | 1 | $44K | 0% | 1 | 2008 |
| 77850 | 1 | $0 | 0% | 1 | 1983 |
| 75878 | 1 | $11K | 0% | 1 | 2008 |
| 78587 | 1 | $26K | 0% | 1 | 1980 |
| 78573 | 1 | $463 | 0% | 1 | 1991 |
| 78570 | 1 | $772 | 0% | 1 | 1980 |
| 78512 | 1 | $3K | 0% | 1 | 1980 |
| 78547 | 1 | $0 | 0% | 1 | 1984 |
| 78579 | 1 | $0 | 0% | 1 | 1999 |
Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.
When does Cameron County flood?
July accounts for the most flood losses (1,831 claims, 26%). Claims by month of loss:
| Month | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 15 | 0% |
| February | 157 | 2% |
| March | 1,197 | 17% |
| April | 515 | 7% |
| May | 204 | 3% |
| June | 848 | 12% |
| July | 1,831 | 26% |
| August | 1,158 | 16% |
| September | 649 | 9% |
| October | 400 | 6% |
| November | 73 | 1% |
| December | 14 | 0% |
Year-by-year detail
| Year of loss | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 7 | $14K |
| 2025 | 1,159 | $89.0M |
| 2024 | 25 | $180K |
| 2023 | 4 | $903 |
| 2022 | 7 | $22K |
| 2021 | 137 | $3.6M |
| 2020 | 169 | $2.0M |
| 2019 | 700 | $36.8M |
| 2018 | 142 | $3.9M |
| 2017 | 17 | $3K |
| 2016 | 8 | $37K |
| 2015 | 95 | $1.6M |
| 2014 | 17 | $374K |
| 2013 | 9 | $49K |
| 2012 | 8 | $57K |
| 2011 | 3 | $0 |
| 2010 | 87 | $1.4M |
| 2009 | 13 | $38K |
| 2008 | 1,599 | $22.7M |
| 2007 | 92 | $1.1M |
| 2006 | 3 | $51K |
| 2005 | 10 | $119K |
| 2004 | 69 | $1.0M |
| 2003 | 139 | $2.1M |
| 2002 | 51 | $589K |
| 2001 | 9 | $41K |
| 2000 | 14 | $50K |
| 1999 | 59 | $65K |
| 1998 | 19 | $108K |
| 1997 | 74 | $583K |
| 1996 | 86 | $420K |
| 1995 | 14 | $28K |
| 1994 | 7 | $31K |
| 1993 | 7 | $9K |
| 1992 | 30 | $34K |
| 1991 | 423 | $5.8M |
| 1990 | 5 | $6K |
| 1989 | 3 | $0 |
| 1988 | 84 | $126K |
| 1987 | 32 | $64K |
| 1986 | 17 | $62K |
| 1985 | 16 | $11K |
| 1984 | 299 | $620K |
| 1983 | 74 | $462K |
| 1982 | 173 | $1.2M |
| 1981 | 10 | $12K |
| 1980 | 1,009 | $8.3M |
| 1979 | 12 | $38K |
| 1978 | 15 | $9K |
Neighboring counties
Cameron County borders 2 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.
| Neighbor | Claims | Paid | Outside high-risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron County (this page) | 7,061 | $184.7M | 74% |
| Hidalgo County | 4,405 | $117.9M | 77% |
| Willacy County | 522 | $5.0M | 40% |
All 217 Texas counties → · County and ZIP rankings →
Common questions about flooding in Cameron County
- Has Cameron County flooded recently?
- Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-05-27, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (2,367 claims from 2017 to 2026). FEMA’s data runs to 2026-09-07, so the newest events may not appear yet.
- Do I need flood insurance in a low-risk zone here?
- Lenders generally require it only in high-risk A and V zones. But 74% of Cameron County’s claims came from moderate- and low-risk zones. Whether to buy coverage is your call — see flood zones explained and check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
- Can I see whether a specific house has flooded?
- Not here. FEMA removes addresses before publishing, so these figures describe areas, never a property. Our guide how to check if a house has flooded lists the questions and records that can tell you about a specific home.
- Why might the real number of floods be higher?
- Only buildings with National Flood Insurance can file these claims, and most homes are not insured for flood. More on what the counts mean in understanding NFIP claims data.
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About these numbers
Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 48061, data as of 2026-09-07). They cover only properties that carried National Flood Insurance — most homes do not, and private flood policies are not included — so real flood damage is larger than these counts show. Dollar amounts are as paid, in nominal dollars. Flood zone is the zone used to rate the policy at the time, which may differ from today’s map. FEMA states this dataset is not an official federal report. Use it for background, not for a purchase, insurance or legal decision; for a specific property ask the seller for its flood disclosure or the owner’s NFIP loss history.