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Water Damage Restoration in Houston, TX
Tropical Storm Allison dropped 28 inches of rain in a 12-hour period just northeast of downtown Houston in June 2001, flooding 73,000 residences across the county. One call reaches vetted local water-damage pros, 24/7.
Active floods · Houston
No active flood events near Houston right now — see the live board.
Water damage in Houston is driven mainly by rainfall and tropical systems: Harris County has drawn 41 federal disaster declarations, 12 of them for flooding and 12 for hurricanes, in a county that averages 57 inches of rain a year. The Harris County Flood Control District notes that a major flood occurs somewhere in the county about every two years. The most recent declarations cover Hurricane Beryl in 2024 and the 2024 severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding.
Water & flood damage risk in Houston
35
flood, hurricane & storm disasters declared in Harris County (FEMA)
2024
most recent flood/storm declaration: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding (FEMA)
0"
rain forecast for Houston in the next 24 hours (NWS)
Sources: FEMA OpenFEMA — federally-declared disaster history (county FIPS 48201) · NOAA NCEI — 1991–2020 Climate Normals (HOUSTON HEIGHTS, TX US)
Recent events in Houston
- Tropical Storm Bertha Jul 29, 2026
- Tropical System Bertha Jul 24, 2026
Live from the DisasterStatus event tracker — Houston is named in each event's affected area.
Why Houston homes flood
Harris County drains through a network of slow, low-gradient bayous — Buffalo, Brays, White Oak, Greens, Sims and Halls among them — that carry runoff into the San Jacinto River system and, ultimately, Galveston Bay. Addicks and Barker reservoirs hold back the western watersheds. That flat coastal geography is the core problem: with 57 inches of rain in an average year and tropical systems that stall offshore, channels fill faster than they can discharge, and water backs into surrounding streets and slabs.
The Flood Control District was created in 1937 after floods in 1929 and 1935, the latter inundating 25 blocks of the downtown business district and 100 residential blocks. Tropical Storm Allison damaged 73,000 residences and killed 22 people in 2001. Hurricane Beryl brought another federal declaration in 2024, part of 41 for the county, and the district reckons a major flood occurs somewhere in the county about every two years.
For homeowners, the practical point is that mapped floodplains do not bound the risk: the district states that everyone in the county lives in a flood zone, and that proximity to water is not a prerequisite for flooding. Standard homeowners policies exclude flood, so drying speed rather than coverage decides much of the final bill; the national water damage restoration guide covers the sequence.
Flood repair permits & inspections
Repair work after flooding is permitted by two different offices depending on the address. Within the city limits, the Floodplain Management Office permits all construction inside the Special Flood Hazard Area under Chapter 19 of the local Code of Ordinances, while Houston Public Works issues the residential repair and trade permits covering structural, electrical, plumbing and mechanical work. Unincorporated addresses fall to the Harris County Office of the County Engineer instead. Cost drives everything: once repairs reach 50 percent of the structure's appraised value, the work counts as substantial damage, and the entire structure — not just the repaired portion — must be brought into current floodplain compliance.
| Permit / inspection | When it applies |
|---|---|
| Single Family Residential Flood Damage Repair (HPWFMO1008) | Required to replace flood-damaged materials on a like-for-like basis within an existing structure's footprint. In Zones A, AO or AE the repair stays non-substantial only if the total cost of repairs is less than 50 percent of the structure's appraised value; an elevation certificate showing Chapter 19 compliance may be submitted as an alternative to cost estimates or appraisals. Two inspections are required — pre-construction and a final floodplain inspection — each with approved plans on site. |
| Residential Repair Permit (HPWCODE1133) | Covers replacement or repair of existing structural members and other building elements — the permit most gutted homes need after water intrusion. It does not require a plan review when replacement materials match or are equivalent to the originals. The permit and the Residential Repairs Spec List must be present on site during inspection and remain until final approval. The permit is valid for six months, processing takes ten business days, and application is entirely online through iPermits and ProjectDox. A $33.56 administrative fee applies on top of the fee schedule base. |
| Single Family Residential Repair/Remodel/Conversion (HPWFMO1011) | Applies to interior alterations wholly contained within an existing structure's footprint that add nothing to the building footprint — the path when flood repairs widen into a remodel. If the project costs 50 percent or more of market value in Zones A, AO or AE, it is a substantial improvement and the entire structure, not just the proposed work, must comply with Chapter 19. Inspections include pre-construction, pre-fill, two elevation certificate inspections during and after construction, site work final and a final floodplain inspection. Processing takes one to three business days. |
| Floodplain Management Office — Floodplain Development Permit | The office permits all construction activity within the Special Flood Hazard Area under the local floodplain ordinance and FEMA regulations, spanning the 500-year floodplain, the 100-year floodplain and the floodway. It also inspects permitted construction, manages Letters of Map Change (CLOMRs, LOMRs, CLOMAs and LOMAs), maintains the floodplain maps and oversees the Community Rating System program. Regulations require all new structures to be at least two feet above the 500-year elevation. The counter operates from 8 am to 5 pm on the third floor at 1002 Washington Ave. |
| Trade Permits and Licenses | Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work done during flood repair requires its own trade permit separate from the building permit — including HVAC alteration permits when parts or equipment are added or removed, and plumbing permits for area drains, catch basins or disconnecting and plugging a main sewer. Registered electrical contractors must pull electrical permits such as circuit panel work. |
| Harris County Office of the County Engineer — Floodplain Development Permit | Outside the city limits the issuer is the county rather than the city. The Office of the County Engineer requires a floodplain development permit for all work in the floodplain, covering grading, filling, paving, construction and other projects on property within the Special Flood Hazard Area, and its permitting guidance states a permit is needed for all development within the county. A post-construction elevation certificate, certified by a Texas registered professional surveyor, engineer or architect, is required for structures in the Special Flood Hazard Area. |
Floodplain & drainage ordinances
- Chapter 19, Code of Ordinances — Sec. 19-33, Base flood elevation requirements in special flood hazard areas
- Additions, new construction and substantial improvement of a residential structure inside the mapped special flood hazard area must have the lowest floor and all utilities raised to the minimum flood protection elevation, defined as the 0.2 percent (500-year) flood elevation plus 2 feet, or 3 feet for a critical facility or a site in the floodway. Once a repair crosses the substantial-improvement line it stops being a like-for-like rebuild and becomes an elevation project.
- Chapter 19, Sec. 19-31 — General construction of structures (substantial improvement and substantial damage)
- Substantial improvement and substantial damage are regulated only inside the special flood hazard area, and the ordinance amendments took effect September 1, 2018. A flooded home in the 100-year floodplain must be elevated to the 500-year level plus 2 feet once repair costs reach the substantial-improvement threshold, while the same repair in the 500-year (shaded X) floodplain carries no elevation requirement and no substantial-damage finding.
- Chapter 19, Sec. 19-34 — Additional standards for design and mitigation
- Development may not diminish the storage volume of the mapped flood hazard area, so fill placed during a rebuild must either be offset on site so there is no net fill or mitigated off site under rules the director promulgates. Mitigation facilities and drainage improvements shown on a plat, mitigation plan or drainage plan must be maintained by every later owner, and obstructing them is cited as a violation of the chapter.
- Regulations of Harris County, Texas for Floodplain Management — Section 4.07(b), Conditions of a Class "II" Permit
- In the unincorporated parts of the county, repairing a structure with substantial damage requires the top of the subfloor of the lowest habitable floor to be at least 24 inches above the 500-year flood elevation or 12 inches above the crown of the nearest public street, whichever is higher. Fill may not be used to reach that height inside the 100-year floodplain, so the rebuild goes on piers or an engineered open foundation.
- Regulations of Harris County, Texas for Floodplain Management — Section 5.01, Substantial Damage Determinations
- The county engineer values a damaged structure at the Harris County Appraisal District's market value unless the owner submits an independent certified appraisal the district concurs with. Where flood insurance pays out more than 95 percent of the structure's value, excluding contents, the building is deemed substantially damaged regardless of any other repair estimate, which is what forces the rebuild up to current elevation standards.
Local water-damage notes
- Harris County Flood Control District Home Buyout Program — The Flood Control District runs a voluntary buyout program aimed at homes sitting several feet deep in the floodplain, in locations where structural drainage projects are not cost-effective. The district describes the target properties as ones built in the wrong place before modern flood regulations, and the program's purpose is preventing future flood damage rather than funding recovery after a specific storm. Because participation is voluntary, an owner who declines cannot be forced to sell, so buyout tracts and occupied flood-prone homes often sit side by side in the same subdivision.
- Community Rating System Class 5 — 25% NFIP premium discount — Houston holds a Class 5 rating in FEMA's Community Rating System, the voluntary program that credits floodplain management activities exceeding minimum National Flood Insurance Program requirements. The rating qualifies properties inside the Special Flood Hazard Area for a 25 percent discount on flood insurance premiums. The Floodplain Management Office administers the rating alongside Letters of Map Change and the NFIP Elevation Certificate; since January 1, 2017, expired elevation certificates are no longer accepted unless FEMA has issued an official extension.
- Drainage utility charge (Proposition 1, effective July 1, 2011) — Property owners in the city have paid a drainage utility charge since July 1, 2011, after voters passed Proposition 1 in November 2010. The charge is assessed on impervious surface — roofs, driveways, patios — and funds the Dedicated Drainage and Street Renewal Fund. Residential properties on a curb-and-gutter system pay $0.032 per square foot of impervious surface annually; residential properties on an open-ditch system pay $0.026 per square foot. It is billed in monthly installments on the city water bill, or quarterly for properties without one.
- Addicks and Barker reservoirs — dry-bottom flood pools — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed Barker Dam in 1945 and Addicks Dam in 1948, about 17 miles west of downtown, to reduce flood damage along Buffalo Bayou through the center of the city. Both are flood-control-only structures with no permanent pools: they are normally kept dry to preserve capacity to impound storm water. Neighborhoods inside and immediately downstream of the reservoir footprints therefore face a water risk tied to reservoir operation during large storms rather than to a standing lake.
- 2018 flood bond program — County voters approved $2.5 billion in bonds on August 25, 2018, to finance flood damage reduction projects, which the Flood Control District describes as supporting a wide variety of recovery and resiliency initiatives. The district lists the Home Buyout Program and the Property Acquisition Program as separate initiatives under its additional programs.
Cleanup & recovery services nearby
- City of Houston Environmental Service Centers — drive-through drop-off for household hazardous waste (latex and oil-base paint up to 25 gallons, solvents, motor oil, antifreeze, batteries, acids) plus residential e-waste, at 11500 S. Post Oak Rd. and 5614 Neches St.; entry requires a current Texas ID and a matching city utility bill or lease.
- Harris County Household Hazardous Waste Facility — appointment-only chemical and hazardous-item disposal at 6900 Hahl Road for county residents who live outside city limits and do not receive city water, trash or recycling service, open Tuesdays and Wednesdays and the 2nd and 4th Saturdays.
- R&L Dumpsters — locally owned roll-off rental in 20, 30 and 40 cubic-yard sizes on a 14-day standard rental, plus full-service junk hauling, covering the metro area including Cypress, Katy, Sugar Land and Pearland.
- Big Tex Self Storage — six climate-controlled self-storage facilities (River Oaks, the Heights, Garden Oaks, Montrose, Museum District and Uptown-Tanglewood) with units from 5×5 to 10×30 for contents moved out during repairs.
- Tommy's Tree Service — tree and stump removal from a bonded and insured crew operating in the area since 1987, with an ISA-certified arborist on staff for tree-health assessments after storm damage.
By the numbers
- Peak Hurricane Harvey storm-total rainfall, Friendswood — The highest storm total recorded anywhere in the National Weather Service Houston/Galveston forecast area during the August 2017 storm.
- 56.00 in
- Tropical Storm Allison rainfall in 12 hours, June 2001 — The Harris County Flood Control District recorded the burst just northeast of downtown, a rate that overwhelmed bayou capacity within half a day.
- 28 in