Most Baytown-area flood claims came from outside the flood zone

What the map says

FEMA's flood maps mark a Special Flood Hazard Area: land with at least a 1 percent chance of flooding in any year, sometimes called the 100-year floodplain. Lenders require flood insurance on mortgaged buildings there.

We matched the 59,488 parcel records in the city of Baytown's own parcel map, on both the Harris and Chambers county sides, against FEMA's flood zones. 6,715 parcels, or 11.3 percent, touch the high-risk zone. 4,457, or 7.5 percent, are at least half inside it. Most of those, about 3,600, are in zone AE, the common riverine and bayou zone. More than 700 are mostly in zone VE, the coastal zone where storm waves add to the danger, and about 90 are in zone A. Parcels include vacant land and businesses as well as homes, so these are shares of land lots, not of households.

What the claims say

The National Flood Insurance Program publishes every claim it has handled, without names or addresses, by ZIP code. For 77520, 77521 and 77523, which together cover most of Baytown along with some areas outside the city limits, the record since 1978 shows 4,626 claims and about $226.1 million paid for buildings and contents.

The biggest years:

• 2017, Harvey: 1,654 claims, about $166.8 million paid.
• 2008, Ike: 512 claims, about $25.8 million.
• 1983, Alicia: 644 claims, about $17.2 million.
• 2024, mostly July storms including Beryl: 73 claims, about $2.5 million.

Harvey by itself is nearly three-quarters of every flood insurance dollar ever paid in these ZIP codes, counted in dollars of the day and not adjusted for inflation.

Either way, the lesson for a homeowner is the same.

The map tells you where the risk is highest.

It does not tell you where it is zero.

Outside the lines

Each claim records the flood zone the property was rated in when it was insured. In 2017, 1,304 of the 1,654 Harvey claims, about 79 percent, came from properties rated outside the high-risk zone, in zones X, B or C. Those claims were paid about $121.2 million of the $166.8 million.

Across all years, 3,003 of the 4,626 claims, about 65 percent, came from outside the high-risk zone. They account for about $143.4 million of the $226.1 million paid.

Part of that is simple arithmetic: far more homes sit outside the high-risk zone than inside it, so even a lower risk adds up to more claims. Part of it is rain: Harvey's flooding came from extreme rainfall as well as from bayous and creeks leaving their banks. Either way, the lesson for a homeowner is the same. The map tells you where the risk is highest. It does not tell you where it is zero.

The maps are changing

Harris County and FEMA are redrawing the county's flood maps through a project called MAAPnext. Draft maps are posted for information only, and the county says FEMA will release preliminary maps after its federal review. Community Impact reported in February 2026 that the new maps were expected to become official around late 2028. MAAPnext covers Harris County only, not the Chambers County side of Baytown. A property outside today's zone may be inside the next one.

What Texas law makes people tell you

• Sellers: since September 1, 2019, the Texas seller's disclosure notice asks whether the property is in a 100-year or 500-year floodplain, whether it has flooded, and whether the seller has filed a flood claim or received federal flood help.
• Landlords: since January 1, 2022, a landlord must tell a tenant in writing, before the lease is signed, whether the landlord knows the home is in a 100-year floodplain and whether it has flooded in the last five years. If neither box is checked, the law says to assume it is in the floodplain. Most renters' policies do not cover flood.

Insurance timing

A new National Flood Insurance Program policy usually takes effect 30 days after purchase. There are exceptions, such as a policy bought when a mortgage is made or renewed, or within 13 months after a map change puts a building into the high-risk zone. Buying in the middle of a storm watch is too late.

Read the fine print

• ZIP codes are not city limits. The claim figures include some homes outside Baytown and miss a few inside it.
• Flood insurance claims count only insured losses. Uninsured damage, which was widespread in Harvey, is not in these numbers.
• The rated zone on a claim is the zone used to price that policy, which can differ from today's map. "Outside the high-risk zone" here means rated in zone X, B or C.
• Claim figures are from FEMA's public claims data as frozen in June 2026, in dollars not adjusted for inflation.
• Our parcel count uses the zone pieces FEMA's map assigns to each lot; tiny slivers may be missed.

Before you go

• Look up your address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov, and on the draft maps at maapnext.org.
• Ask your insurance agent for a flood quote even if you are outside the high-risk zone.
• Ask a seller or landlord for the flood disclosure in writing.
• Photograph your belongings before hurricane season, not after.

More Baytown by the numbers: Homes cost less here. Renters feel the same squeeze as everywhere.; Crime in Baytown, by the numbers: down from the 2022 peak, still above nearby suburbs; Baytown's sewer case: four years of talks, and what it means for your bill.

Sources

• FEMA, OpenFEMA NFIP claims data, ZIP codes 77520, 77521, 77523 (https://www.fema.gov/openfema-data-page/nfip-redacted-claims-v3)
• FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, as joined to City of Baytown parcels (https://msc.fema.gov/portal/home)
• FloodSmart, Flood Insurance 101: waiting period (https://agents.floodsmart.gov/topics/flood-insurance-101)
• Texas Property Code, Section 92.0135, landlord floodplain and flooding notice, added by S.B. 2349 (2021) (https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm)
• Texas Legislature, S.B. 339 (2019), seller's disclosure of flood information (https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/86R/analysis/html/SB00339F.htm)
• Harris County Flood Control District, MAAPnext (https://www.maapnext.org/)
• Community Impact, Harris County draft FEMA flood map data (https://communityimpact.com/houston/cypress/government/2026/02/13/harris-county-officials-publish-draft-fema-flood-map-data-talk-next-steps/)

En español

Cerca de 7.5 por ciento de los 59,488 terrenos de Baytown está al menos a la mitad dentro de la zona de alto riesgo de inundación de FEMA. Pero en el huracán Harvey, en 2017, casi 4 de cada 5 reclamos al seguro federal de inundación en los códigos postales 77520, 77521 y 77523 vinieron de propiedades fuera de esa zona. Desde 1978, el seguro federal ha pagado unos $226 millones en esos códigos postales, y Harvey representa unos $167 millones. Una póliza nueva normalmente empieza 30 días después de comprarla. Busque su dirección en msc.fema.gov y pida una cotización aunque esté fuera de la zona de alto riesgo.