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Waller County, TX flood insurance claims history

878 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Waller County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $44.0M on them. The worst year was 2017 with 334 claims. Waller County ranks #27 of 217 in Texas by claim count.

At a glance

  • 53% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 38% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Harvey (2017), which paid $25.1M here.
  • Flood claims were filed in 8 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
  • More flood claims than 88% of the 217 Texas counties with any claims on file — and more than 3 of its 6 neighbors.
  • ZIP 77423 has the most claims in the county (266, 30%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
878
1978 – 2024
Total paid
$44.0M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
85%
750 received a payment
Average payout
$59K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
666
claims 2015 – 2024
Most recent loss
2024-07-08
data as of 2026-09-07

Look up your ZIP code

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: 334 claims in 2017
 
 
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'95
 
 
 
 
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Claims by year of loss, 1978–2024. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.

Biggest flood events in Waller County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Hurricane Harvey330$25.1M$76K2017
Spring severe storms170$9.1M$54K2016
Early summer severe storms110$4.1M$37K2016
Flooding (FEMA general label)66$1.7M$25K1998
Flooding (FEMA general label)35$1.0M$29K1994
Early summer storms11$115K$10K2015
Tropical Storm Allison11$184K$17K2001
Tropical Storm Paul8$74K$9K2006
Spring Storm5$61K$12K2009
Hurricane Beryl4$10K$3K2024
Flooding (FEMA general label)3$58K$19K1979
Hurricane Ike3$3K$8522008

86% 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: 390 (44%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 0 (0%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 441 (50%)Zone not recorded: 47 (5%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)390$18.2M$47K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)441$24.8M$56K
Zone not recorded47$1.0M$22K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt44851%
Stream, river or lake overflow22626%
Other causes17620%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)192%
Not recorded71%
Alluvial fan overflow20%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Waller County

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

77423266$13.3M30%102024
77447186$9.1M21%152021
77484185$5.1M21%242024
77493139$12.9M16%112022
7744573$2.5M8%142022
7744622$909K3%62017
774663$38K0%32017
774492$103K0%22017
773551$12K0%12017
774921$00%11984

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

When does Waller County flood?

August accounts for the most flood losses (335 claims, 38%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January20%
February51%
March61%
April19122%
May13916%
June293%
July212%
August33538%
September202%
October10812%
November192%
December30%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
20245$10K
20223$0
20217$202K
20201$6K
20193$41K
2017334$25.5M
2016290$13.2M
201523$710K
20147$103K
201215$534K
20095$61K
20083$3K
20073$26K
20068$74K
20052$0
20044$78K
20029$139K
200113$184K
20004$2K
199875$1.7M
19973$22K
199437$1.0M
19923$3K
19881$33K
19861$2K
19856$159K
19841$0
19832$37K
19821$15K
19811$24K
19796$89K
19782$16K

Neighboring counties

Waller County borders 6 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Waller County (this page)878$44.0M53%
Harris County170,854$8.76B55%
Montgomery County13,035$633.8M54%
Fort Bend County7,389$450.9M72%
Austin County327$14.3M35%
Grimes County89$1.4M42%
Washington County71$1.7M71%

All 217 Texas counties → · County and ZIP rankings →

Common questions about flooding in Waller County

Has Waller County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2024-07-08, and claims were filed in 8 of the last 10 years (666 claims from 2015 to 2024). 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 53% of Waller 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 48473, 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.