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Hidalgo County, TX flood insurance claims history

4,405 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Hidalgo County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $117.9M on them. The worst year was 2020 with 843 claims. Hidalgo County ranks #11 of 217 in Texas by claim count.

At a glance

  • 77% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 18% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Hanna (2020), which paid $21.9M 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 95% of the 217 Texas counties with any claims on file — and more than 4 of its 5 neighbors.
  • ZIP 78596 has the most claims in the county (596, 14%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
4,405
1978 – 2026
Total paid
$117.9M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
79%
3,483 received a payment
Average payout
$34K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
2,464
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-07-15
data as of 2026-09-07

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Pick your ZIP code to see how many insured buildings there filed flood claims, in which years, and how much was paid. Narrow by year or flood zone too. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you pick is sent anywhere.

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Flood claims by year

Peak: 843 claims in 2020
 
 
'80
 
 
 
 
'85
 
 
 
 
'90
 
 
 
 
'95
 
 
 
 
'00
 
 
 
 
'05
 
 
 
 
'10
 
 
 
 
'15
 
 
 
 
'20
 
 
 
 
'25
 

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 Hidalgo County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Hurricane Hanna775$21.9M$28K2020
Hurricane Allen376$2.0M$5K1980
Hurricane Dolly313$3.3M$11K2008
Tropical Storm Bill44$685K$16K2015
Early summer severe storms24$366K$15K2016
2026-06-Arthur-TS20$267K$13K2026
Flooding (FEMA general label)19$31K$2K1981
Early summer storms12$36K$3K2015
Tropical Storm Allison11$35K$3K2001
Flooding (FEMA general label)9$41K$5K1999
Flooding (FEMA general label)8$84K$11K2002
Thunderstorms7$91K$13K2007

37% 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 →

High-risk A zones: 946 (21%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 2 (0%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 3,128 (71%)Zone not recorded: 329 (7%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)946$19.4M$20K
Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30)2$10K$5K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)3,128$95.2M$30K
Zone not recorded329$3.4M$10K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt3,28575%
Other causes47711%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)3759%
Stream, river or lake overflow1634%
Not recorded912%
Not recorded (expedited claim handling)80%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Hidalgo County

41 ZIP codes in Hidalgo County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Hidalgo County.

78596596$29.6M14%322026
78570522$15.3M12%292026
78501433$6.5M10%362025
78599412$14.2M9%192026
78539400$5.0M9%332025
78572394$8.2M9%372025
78577252$7.0M6%282025
78504161$4.2M4%222026
78574153$4.0M3%232025
78541152$2.4M3%222025
78542128$2.4M3%152026
78503123$4.1M3%202025
78537112$2.1M3%162025
7851693$1.5M2%202025
7858987$779K2%212025
7857380$2.0M2%212026
7853867$2.3M2%112025
7854339$730K1%102025
7855731$2.2M1%42025
7855822$554K0%82025
7857922$809K0%92025
19$56K0%41985
7856218$313K0%52025
7859518$613K0%72026
7854017$49K0%41988
7850512$29K0%41985
7857611$746K0%32020
785608$62K0%72021
785865$19K0%22008
785023$10K0%21991
785633$23K0%31995
789722$2K0%21987
758732$4K0%22007
787501$137K0%12025
785651$00%12010
765411$10K0%12010
785491$00%12008
787961$6K0%11980
785591$3K0%11991
785691$00%12010
784391$1K0%11980

Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.

When does Hidalgo County flood?

July accounts for the most flood losses (1,323 claims, 30%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January60%
February281%
March61014%
April1393%
May2165%
June1,16426%
July1,32330%
August46411%
September2265%
October1924%
November281%
December90%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
202625$304K
2025441$24.3M
20247$204K
202313$35K
202217$121K
2021134$2.5M
2020843$22.9M
2019252$6.8M
2018728$40.0M
20174$1K
201632$402K
2015205$5.1M
201434$148K
20139$27K
2012184$3.6M
20117$36K
2010130$2.3M
20099$67K
2008352$3.6M
200727$285K
200643$766K
200512$63K
200418$73K
200346$477K
200223$260K
200132$178K
20004$25K
199913$100K
19987$27K
199712$73K
19964$13K
19955$89K
19947$24K
19932$17K
19922$2K
199128$95K
19904$6K
19893$36K
198811$14K
198710$44K
19861$0
198580$306K
19847$5K
198344$85K
198242$49K
198133$57K
1980393$2.1M
197961$189K
19785$6K

Neighboring counties

Hidalgo County borders 5 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Hidalgo County (this page)4,405$117.9M77%
Cameron County7,061$184.7M74%
Willacy County522$5.0M40%
Brooks County185$1.2M2%
Starr County84$2.0M56%
Kenedy County1$59K100%

All 217 Texas counties → · County and ZIP rankings →

Common questions about flooding in Hidalgo County

Has Hidalgo County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-07-15, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (2,464 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 77% of Hidalgo 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 48215, 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.