Lake Houston - Humble - Kingwood Edition | May 2026

Navigating ood protection From the cover

The cost

The big picture

Medrano said standard homeowners insurance does not cover flood-related damages. “What [flood insurance] covers is damage to your property if water comes from the ground up,” he said. “Regular home insurance is if the water comes in from the sky down.” Annual flood insurance costs vary greatly for Harris County residents—anywhere from $500 to more than $1,000—according to FEMA data. Medrano said residents living outside the 100-year floodplain may be able to buy a NFIP policy at a lower rate. The NFIP also offers discounts for high-risk homes under the new maps. Bob Rehak, a member of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force, said he has lived in Kingwood for 42 years. He said that his house hasn’t flooded, but the flood levels have gotten closer with each major storm. “We’ve seen water come across Kingwood Drive four times, and each time, it’s gotten progressively higher,” Rehak said. Rehak said many people buying homes don’t realize that floodplains are constantly changing due to a variety of factors. Therefore, they can still be at risk, even if their homes are not in a danger zone on the FEMA flood maps. NFIP policyholder premium changes, 2025 Monthly premiums shifted across the Lake Houston area in the past year based on a matrix used by the NFIP called Risk Rating 2.0.

Homeowners with a mortgage who are located in the 100-year floodplain are required to obtain flood insurance, but Harris County leaders recommend all residents protect their homes. FEMA floodplain areas 1% (100-year) floodway 0.2% (500-year) floodplain 1% (100-year) floodplain Low risk

Current flood maps (released 2007)

Draft flood maps (released 2026)

H P A R K

H P A R

KINGWOOD DR.

1960

W. LAKE HOUSTON PKWY.

LAKE HOUSTON

SOURCES: MODELING, ASSESSMENT AND AWARENESS PROJECT MAAPNEXT; HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICTCOMMUNITY IMPACT

ZIP codes

Policy count

$0-$100+ decrease

$0-$50 increase

It’s been more than two months since the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Harris County Flood Control District released the long-awaited draft maps highlighting updated ood risks across the region. While the data is a work in progress, some local homeowners said they are wondering how the changes will impact their bills. FEMA requires all property owners with a federally-backed mortgage living in a 100-year oodplain— areas with a 1% annual chance of ooding—to obtain ood insurance through private insurers or the National Flood Insurance Program, known as NFIP. A before-and-after glimpse of the preliminary maps indicates more Lake Houston-area homes fall within a high- or moderate-risk ood zone, potentially impacting ood insurance requirements for certain residents. The February draft reects nearly two decades of change, as FEMA last released ood maps in 2007 using data from Tropical Storm Allison, per the agency’s website. Emily Woodell, HCFCD chief external aairs ocer, said new insurance requirements won’t

68%

77044 3,650 1.8%

98.3% 92.8% 91.7% 98.7% 98.8%

of structural damages reported during Hurricane Harvey were located outside of the 100-year oodplain.

77338 1,423 77339 5,764 77345 4,917 77346 5,110

7.2% 8.3% 1.3% 1.1%

SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICTCOMMUNITY IMPACT

77396 2,503 95.9% NOTE: DATA REFERS TO POLICIES FOR SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES. ONE HOUSING UNIT MAY CARRY MORE THAN ONE POLICY, AS COVERAGE FOR THE BUILDING AND PERSONAL BELONGINGS ARE PACKAGED SEPARATELY. 4.1%

take eect until the map is nalized in two to three years. She said HCFCD doesn’t know the exact number of homes now in a oodplain, but there was a “signicant expansion in the maps” driven by a 30% increase in rainfall rates. “Our stance has always been and will always be that everyone in Harris County should have ood insurance no matter where you live,” she said. As for cost, Houston-area insurance agent Jose Medrano said every property is unique, and the map alone no longer determines premiums. In 2023, FEMA implemented a new pricing system called Risk Rating 2.0 that uses factors such as home elevation, distance to ood sources and construction history to calculate quotes.

NFIP claims filed, paid in unincorporated Harris County Write your own: Private insurers issue the policy, but NFIP pays the claim Direct

Number of claims

37,093

12,716

Total: 49,809

Net dollars paid

$2.08B

$477.34M

Total: $2.56B

SOURCE: NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM/COMMUNITY IMPACT NOTE: CUMULATIVE DATA COLLECTED THROUGH DEC. 31

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM