County storm facts
Storm prep for Harris County residents
Harris County has had 170,854 flood insurance claims since 1978, 35 federal disaster declarations for fires, storms, floods or mudslides since 1973, and 24 mapped wildfires that started here since 2021.
Sources:
Local data from official sources, updated weekly. This snapshot: September 29, 2026. Alerts load live from the National Weather Service when you open this page.
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Source: National Weather Service alerts.
Forecasts for this county (NWS county zone TXC201) come from:
Source: National Weather Service (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Help right now
Live from FEMA and the Red Cross shelter list. Check your address on the home page for what’s nearest you.
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FEMA assistance
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Hurricane evacuation zone
Find your hurricane evacuation zone on your state’s official map. We don’t show zones on this page yet.
Recent burn areas
24 fires that started in Harris County since January 1, 2021 have a mapped perimeter, covering 334 acres in all.
Largest
| Fire | Year | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Pipe | 2023 | 126 |
| Harris 4572 | 2025 | 40 |
| Harris 2739 | 2024 | 33 |
Acres are each fire’s whole mapped area, which can reach past the county line.
Burned ground soaks up less rain, so water can run off faster than usual in a heavy storm. Watch for flood warnings when heavy rain is forecast.
Source: NIFC WFIGS Interagency Fire Perimeters (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Flood history
170,854 flood insurance claims have been filed in Harris County since 1978. 58,004 of them were for floods from 2017 to 2026.
The years with the most claims: 2017 (49,788), 2001 (22,946), 2008 (13,716).
This is history, not a prediction. These are National Flood Insurance Program claims, so they only count insured buildings.
FEMA’s data runs through September 8, 2026.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA, NFIP Redacted Claims (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Federal disaster declarations
Harris County has been part of 35 federal disaster declarations for fires, storms, floods or mudslides since 1973: 3 for fires and 32 for storms, floods or mudslides.
Most recent
- Hurricane BerylJuly 9, 2024 · DR-4798-TX
- Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and FloodingMay 17, 2024 · DR-4781-TX
- Tropical Storms Marco and LauraAugust 24, 2020 · EM-3540-TX
FEMA’s ids start with DR for a major disaster, EM for an emergency and FM for fire management.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Landslide-prone ground
USGS maps about 12% of Harris County as ground susceptible to landslides.
This is a county-wide figure, not a rating for your spot. Steep slopes, road cuts and burned hillsides above you matter most in heavy rain.
From the USGS U.S. Landslide Inventory and Susceptibility data release (2024). Susceptible ground is terrain steep and high enough for landslides like those mapped in similar places. The inventory counts only slides someone mapped, and some states map few, so a low count doesn’t mean the ground is stable.
Source: USGS landslide susceptibility, county table (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Rain in past strong El Niño winters
October–March rainfall at the Houston Intercontinental Airport weather station in past strong El Niño winters, compared with its 1991–2020 normal.
Oct–Mar rainfall in past strong El Niño winters, as % of the 1991–2020 normal — Houston Intercontinental Airport
5 of the 6 strong El Niño winters on record at Houston Intercontinental Airport were wetter than normal. They ranged from 92% of normal (2023-24) to 155% (1991-92) — a tendency, not a guarantee.
| Winter | ONI (DJF) | Oct–Mar total | % of normal | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972-73 | 1.55 | 24.11 in | 101% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 1982-83 | 2.14 | 30.28 in | 127% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 1991-92 | 1.54 | 36.91 in | 155% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 1997-98 | 2.22 | 28.43 in | 120% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 2015-16 | 2.50 | 29.42 in | 124% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 2023-24 | 1.84 | 21.88 in | 92% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
NCEI has no complete record at this station for 1957-58.
Source: NOAA NCEI (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Local help
Help lines, alert sign-ups and official emergency pages for this county and state.
- County alertsReady Harris (county alerts) (opens in a new tab)
- 2112-1-1 Texas (opens in a new tab)
- County emergency officesTDEM: Emergency Management Officials (opens in a new tab)
- State agencyTexas Division of Emergency Management (opens in a new tab)
- State recoveryTDEM Recovery (opens in a new tab)
- Federal disaster helpDisasterAssistance.gov (opens in a new tab)
- Open sheltersRed Cross open shelter finder (opens in a new tab)
- Road conditionsDriveTexas (TxDOT) (opens in a new tab)
Power and internet outages
Power
Main power companies in Texas. Your bill names yours; check your address to see which may serve it.
- Outage pageOncor (opens in a new tab)
- Outage mapCenterPoint Energy (opens in a new tab)
- Outage pageAEP Texas (opens in a new tab)
- Outage pageAustin Energy (opens in a new tab)
- Outage pageCPS Energy (San Antonio) (opens in a new tab)
- Outage mapEntergy Texas (opens in a new tab)
Internet and phone
- Carrier statusAT&T outage map (opens in a new tab)
- Carrier statusSpectrum service status (opens in a new tab)
- Regional internet outagesCloudflare Radar: internet outages (opens in a new tab)
4 more we haven’t verified: search for them by name
- Carrier statusVerizon outage/status
- Carrier statusT-Mobile service status
- Carrier statusXfinity/Comcast support
- Carrier statusFrontier outage map
What about your street?
County numbers can’t tell you about your home. Check your address against the official flood, fire and landslide maps and live warnings.