Katy Flood Zones

People moving to the Katy area are often concerned about Katy flood zones. The good news is that, for the most part and with a few exceptions, most Katy neighborhoods are located out of Special Flood Areas. There are a few areas that are in 500-year Floodplain (yellow zone) and a few more that are near creeks, bayous, and low-lying areas that put them in the 100-year Floodway (purple).

Beware of new construction neighborhoods that are located in 100-year and 500-year flood zones! If you are buying a home, get my report for Katy flood maps.

To understand the flood lingo, a home in a 100-year flood zone has a 1 percent chance of flooding every year. If you are located in the 500-year flood zone, that likelihood is reduced to .2% every year.  But keep in mind that natural disasters rarely follow the rules of probability to the letter. Instead of thinking of this as a fast and hard rule, it is simply meant to be a guideline for builders, homeowners, and community planners.

Source: https://www.proplogix.com/blog/how-elevation-certificates-help-determine-your-property-flood-risk

 

I’m not a flood expert, weather expert, engineer, surveyor, etc…I’ve just lived on the Texas Gulf Coast for over 40 years and experienced many floods, hurricanes and tropical storms. Here’s my opinion based on what I have experienced…

Pretty much all areas of the United States (and the world) have to deal with natural disasters. In California it’s earthquakes, mudslides, and wild fires. In the Midwest it’s tornadoes. In the Northeast it’s winter storms and blizzards. Many parts of the country deal with flooding…especially near rivers. Other parts deal with severe droughts. The fact is, you can’t completely avoid natural disasters anywhere…so you need to minimize your risk and prepare for them as best you can.

If you want to live anywhere on the Gulf Coast (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida) or anywhere in the Houston region, then you will need to be prepared for hurricanes and flash flooding. One thing history has shown us regarding flooding…history means nothing! Each time we experience a major flood, you will see many flooded home owners on the news saying something like, “We’ve lived here over 30 years and never flooded before.” Last year (2019) there was a major flash flood and the new thing we heard afterwards was, “We didn’t flood in Harvey, but we flooded this time.”

So just because a home has never flooded before, does NOT guarantee it will not flood in the future. It just means it has a lower risk for flooding. Likewise, just because a home flooded during Hurricane Harvey, does NOT mean it will ever flood again. That was a historical storm that, most experts believe, is unlikely to occur in Katy again in our lifetime.

So, if you are buying a home in most parts of Katy Texas that do not back to a natural water source, then your risk for your home flooding is relatively low, especially compared to the rest of the Houston area. However, I still recommend you buy flood insurance! Trust me, it’s worth your “peace of mind” when hurricane season rolls around.

NOTE: In my definition of “flooding” I am referring to the interior of your home being infiltrated with flood/surface water. This does not refer to typical street flooding, since our streets are part of the designed drainage system in our area.

 

Source: https://www.eng.hctx.net/Consultants/Floodplain-Management/Floodplain-Information#FloodFacts

 

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What Katy Areas Flooded During Hurricane Harvey?

During Hurricane Harvey, two unprecedented things occurred that caused a few homes in Katy to flood (less than 8 percent, and that’s including businesses and retail establishments). The areas around the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs had the most severe issues, but some flooding occurred around natural bayous, creeks, and other low-lying areas.

Hurricane Harvey dropped a record-breaking amount of rain in the Houston region…over 50 inches (“only” 31 inches in Katy). The amount of rain that fell cause the Addicks-Barker Reservoirs to overfill.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-harvey-2017-rainfall-map-2017-8

 

While Katy flood zones are typically rated as Zone X, 100-year floodplain, or 500-year floodplain, Hurricane Harvey is being described as a an unprecedented, 1,000 year or even 3,000 year event (read more)! This means that homes that flooded during that once-in-a-life time weather event may never flood again.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wettest_tropical_cyclones_in_the_United_States

 

Source: https://www.hcfcd.org

 

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What to Watch for When Buying a Home

It has been reported that less than 8 percent of Katy homes and businesses (approximately 7,209) were flooded during Hurricane Harvey…so don’t let what you see on TV give you the wrong impression…most of the homes in Katy TX do not flood on a regular basis and did not flood even during this HISTORIC hurricane. The water got high and some of the roads were flooded for a few days (mostly around Fry Rd, east of Grand Parkway), but this was an unprecedented weather event which may never occur again. 

With that in mind, I will say that it will be very important for home buyers to watch out for repaired homes and to make sure they have been repaired properly. The main thing that most people worry about is mold problems in homes that have flooded. Supposedly, once the homes have been properly dried out, then mold cannot grow. Mold requires moisture to grow. While mold spores are around us all the time,  they will not grow and become a problem when the source of the moisture is eliminated. It’s usually hidden leaks and on-going moisture that allows mold to grow. (read more)

By now, homes that were repaired after Hurricane Harvey, should be properly dried out and restored. If there are any concerns of mold issues, it’s easy to have an environmental air analysis performed by an expert and determine if the home has a hidden problem with high levels of mold spores. If it does, then move on to another home. If it doesn’t, then you get an updated home in a beautiful area of Katy (where the homes tend to be older and outdated).

The Texas Legislature passed a law, effective September 1, 2019, that now requires home sellers to fully disclose flood zones and flood history for homes. Section 5 of the Sellers Disclosure now looks like this:

 

So this will be information you will receive when you buy a home in Texas. 

But beware of investors who have never lived in the home and can, therefore, avoid reporting these issues. This is why you may want to avoid some investment properties. If a Seller company wants you to sign away your legal rights regarding Deceptive Trade Practices and their disclosure responsibilities (such as Zillow or OpenDoor), then BUYER BEWARE. (“Buyer Beware” is “code” for “don’t buy it!”)

> View a current list of Katy Homes for Sale in Low-Risk Flood Zones

 

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How to Avoid Buying a Home in a High-Risk Flood Zone

If you want to watch out for homes in high-risk flood areas (and you should!), then hire a real estate agent who will watch out for you (Sheila Cox 😄). Most home builders’ agents, in new construction neighborhoods, will NOT tell you that their neighborhood is in a 100-year flood plain…but I will. I have had to inform multiple clients about this over the years (and they were very grateful for me).

The year before Hurricane Harvey, I had a client who wanted to look at homes in a specific neighborhood, close to the Brazos river, that I knew had serious issues (although it hadn’t flooded yet). I informed her about the issues and prevented her from buying there. Guess what? Many homes in that neighborhood flooded during Harvey. It was a mess! My client was so grateful that I prevented her from buying in that neighborhood.

Unfortunately, the MLS does not provide a search field for “previous flooding” or flood zones. However, since I know the area so well, when I set up homes searches for my clients (request yours here), I can filter out the areas that I know are located in higher-risk flood areas. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good way to avoid risky areas. Then, when a client expresses interest in a specific home, I always double-check the flood map and the Seller’s Disclosure before I show the home. It’s really good to have someone looking out for your best interests!

I highly recommend that you do NOT rely on the “Flood Factor” ratings in this area, or you may buy a risky home. Get more information in my report…

Get My Katy Flood Report
With Maps
(includes flood maps for new neighborhoods)

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RedFin Users Beware!

There’s a new information source on flooding that I am very concerned about because it seems INACCURATE according to our actual real-world flood history and the FEMA flood maps. Here’s an example.

On RedFin, for 19731 Eagle Canyon Way, they show a Flood Risk Factor of 1 Minimal in FEMA Zone X, see below.

 

You have GOT to be kiddin’ me!

That home (see map location) is located in the Canyon Gate neighborhood of Katy 77450 which is one of the few Katy neighborhoods that was ordered to evacuate during Hurricane Harvey and actually suffered WIDE-SPREAD flooding (see cool map). If ANY neighborhood in Katy should be considered a “risky” flood area it’s Canyon Gate. 

Here’s a screenshot from my phone showing the Mandatory evacuation notice from Fort Bend County…

 

As show in the image below, Canyon Gate had approximately 798 homes flooded during Hurricane Harvey…practically the entire neighborhood.

 

Also see actual flood photo of Canyon Gate, below…

 

When I view that home (19731 Eagle Canyon Way) on my MLS database, I see that it is actually in FEMA Zone X500, which is a 500-yr floodplain, and it’s on the very edge of a 100-yr floodplain (see image below). In my opinion, this home should be considered at least a moderate flood risk.

 

 

Especially since the home owner’s are reporting that it has already flooded! (see Seller’s Disclosure below)

 

This is why you need a local area expert and not some AI-generated website helping you with your home purchase.

 

Now let’s contrast that to an area that has NO HISTORY OF FLOODING to my knowledge. I actually evacuated to this area during Hurricane Harvey, and I personally drove the streets (which were NOT flooded). 

NOTE: During Harvey a lot of neighborhoods had street flooding, but no flooding into the homes. In the Houston area, streets are designed as part of our drainage system…that’s where our storm drains are located. So during major rain events, the streets may flood for a few hours (so you can’t drive them) but the homes do not flood.

Here’s RedFin’s Flood Factor rating for 5123 Cinco Forest Trail…it says 6 Major Flood Factor.

 

Ok, anything is possible in the future, but my MLS database shows this home is in a Zone X (see image below) which is “Out of  Special Flood Hazard Area.” And like I said, I drove this area (not this specific home) during Hurricane Harvey, so I am an eye-witness to what happened in this area when it received approximately 30-inches of rain!

 

And the home owners report NO HISTORY OF FLOODING, see below.

 

Map Summary of This Example

The map below shows what areas in Katy actually flooded during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The Cinco Forest Trail house on the lower-left side (no flodding) is reported as “High Risk” on RedFin, and the Eagle Canyon Way house on the lower-right side (flooded) is reported as “Low Risk” on Redfin.

So which house would you rather buy?
The one that RedFin reports as Low Risk or the one they report as Major Risk?!

In summary, I don’t think that RedFin’s flood risk assessment is something that home buyers should rely on…at least not in my area. That’s my opinion and it’s based on real-world observations.

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Flood Insurance Important for ALL Gulf Coast Areas

As a resident of the Gulf Coast, you should know that hundreds of homes in the Houston area that are not in high-risk flood zones and had never flooded before during any other flood or hurricane event, did flood during Harvey. So that means…you never know for sure and you had better carry Flood Insurance on your home at all times! In my opinion, a $400-500 flood insurance policy is worth the peace of mind you have from knowing you won’t be financially devastated if a storm sits on top of your neighborhood and drops 50 inches of rain! I don’t know of any areas in the country that can handle that much water…do you?

One of my biggest pet-peeves is hearing people in the Houston region say, “I don’t need flood insurance because my home has never flooded before.” Duh. Neither did approximately 85 percent of the homes that flooded during Hurricane Harvey! One thing I can guarantee you about flooding on the Gulf Coast…there are NO guarantees.

I live in a low-risk flood zone X area and I have flood insurance!

 

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Read also:

• Fort Bend County LID Map
• As Harvey Raged, Meteorologists Grasped for Words to Describe It
• NASA video shows Harvey’s 1,000-year flood event over Texas

Links and Resources

• Brazos River Information
• Emergency Notification System Sign Up
• Read advice about flooding
  
• Learn more about flood zone definitions
• Read Q&A About Flood Insurance
• How to By Flood Insurance
• Private Flood Insurance vs. FEMA