The deadliest floods in Texas history: A state at risk
In the aftermath of the 2025 Texas floods, a look back at some of the most destructive and defining flood events in the state’s weather history.
A Texas state flag flies in a yard filled with debris on July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. Heavy rainfall caused flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
With the death toll from the 2025 Texas floods rising to at least 130 with some 160 people still missing, the lasting impact from the historic disaster continues to be felt long after the July 4 holiday weekend when the Guadalupe River surged following torrential rain.
The Lone Star State is no stranger to devastating floods, and the state has endured the highest number of billion-dollar disasters since 1980. In fact, this region in Kern County in the heart of Texas Hill Country is known as "Flash Flood Alley," the deadliest place for flooding in the entire country, according to a map of flooding reports between 2006 and 2020.
But how does the Texas 2025 flood event stack up to other floods in Texas's weather history? Here's a look at some of the deadliest floods in Texas history in relation to loss of life, economic damages and the weather dynamics behind each major flood event.
The Great Galveston Hurricane, 1900
A house tipped on its side, with several boys standing in front, after the Great Galveston Storm in Texas. The storm remains the worst natural disaster and the worst hurricane in U.S. history. (Photo credit: Library of Congress)
In an era before hurricanes were named, the Great Galveston Hurricane will never be forgotten. On Sept. 8, 1900, an estimated Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 145 mph made landfall in Galveston, Texas, a booming port city of 14,000 people at the time. Beyond the fierce winds, the storm also brought in major storm surge (estimated at 15 feet), far higher than the low-lying island itself.
As the water rushed in, thousands of structures turned to rubble, with about half of all buildings in Galveston destroyed. Between 6,000 and 12,000 residents perished, as the city was cut off from mainland Texas for days.
A large part of the city of Galveston, Texas was reduced to rubble, as shown in this September, 1900 photo, after being hit by a surprise hurricane Sept. 8, 1900. More than 6,000 people were killed and 10,000 left homeless from the Great Storm. (AP Photo)
In the aftermath of the storm, Galveston responded by building a 17-foot seawall to protect itself from future storms. The Great Galveston Hurricane was also one of the contributing factors to Houston becoming the region's main port, leading to a population boom. Considered the worst natural disaster in American history, it was a turning point in American meteorology, exposing the need for better forecasting, international cooperation and disaster response infrastructure.
San Antonio Floods, 1913
The Brazos River overflowing onto San Antonio streets. (Courtesy The Texas Collection, Baylor University.)
On the heels of a very wet fall in the midst of a prototypical El Niño year, things turned from bad to worse by early December 1913. In San Antonio, some 180 people perished after the city received between 20 and 25 inches of rain in 15 days, causing countless overflowing rivers and creeks.
The flooding in 1913 led to the formation of the Brazos River and Valley Improvement Association in 1915 to address future flooding concerns, according to Waco History. While devastating, the flood also sparked early efforts towards flood control, including a state legislature flood control study in 1923 and the construction of the first Lake Waco Dam in 1929.
Dam construction along the Brazos River in the wake of 1913 flooding. (Courtesy The Texas Collection, Baylor University)
San Antonio/Central Texas floods, 1921
The famous River Walk in the Alamo City has its roots in this historic flood. In September of 1921, a Category 1 hurricane headed north from southeastern Mexico towards Texas. The weakened storm arrived in the Lone Star State and brought a deluge of rain to San Antonio on Sept. 8, 1921. It rained for several consecutive days, destroying 13 bridges and drowning 51 people in San Antonio alone. Overall, upwards of 200 people lost their lives in the region.
“There was no weather service flashing bulletins, and so on the West Side, those creeks rose rapidly and immediately spilled out of their very narrow banks and blew into the abutting neighborhoods,” Char Miller, author of West Side Rising: How San Antonio’s 1921 Flood Devastated a City and Sparked a Latino Environmental Justice Movement, told Texas Public Radio. “The damage was intense, in part, because it's right around midnight and most people are asleep.”
Like in Galveston, the lessons from these floods led to a reshaping of the city and its infrastructure. The Olmos Dam was built a few years later, with the idea to have a bypass channel to run through downtown to further help curb flood risk. Ultimately, leaders decided to build the River Walk, a hub for tourism and an iconic part of the city to this day.
Miller, a historian and environmental analysis scholar at Pomona College in Claremont, California, said destroyed Westside Creeks were restored with a view towards flood control.
“This is a story that is at once really devastating but also is celebratory in that look at how the community … how it saved itself, and that's a tale that's rare in environmental justice stories,” he said.
Central Texas Flood, 1978
Flooding in Medina, Texas August 1-4, 1978. (Photo credit: USGS)
Never underestimate tropical rainstorms and inland flooding. In late July of 1978, Amelia developed uneventfully in the Atlantic but eventually became a depression then a weak tropical storm in the Gulf, with sustained winds of around 40 mph. Although the winds were unassuming, Amelia packed a punch with moisture lingering over central Texas for days, especially the Hill Country and areas west of Austin and San Antonio.
Flooding in Medina, Texas August 1-4, 1978. (Photo credit: USGS)
Up to 48 inches fell in some areas over three days — one of the highest rainfall totals in U.S. history from a tropical system. In Albany, Texas, west of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, 29 inches fell in 24 hours, with 80% of the town submerged in muddy water. Thirty-three people died, damage totaled $110 million in 1978 dollars, and President Jimmy Carter declared six counties in the state as federal disaster areas.
Hurricane Harvey, 2017
The damage left behind by Hurricane Harvey is becoming more clear.
In late August of 2017, slow-moving Hurricane Harvey brought unprecedented amounts of rainfall to Texas and Louisiana. Many areas received more than 40 inches over a four-day period, heavy rainfall which led to catastrophic and prolonged flooding, making Harvey one of the U.S.'s most extreme rainfall events.
With peak accumulations of 60.58 inches in Nederland, Texas, east of Houston, Harvey is considered the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the United States and one of the costliest, with damage estimates reaching $158.8 billion, according to NOAA. The total death toll from Harvey in the United States was 107, including 68 deaths in Texas from direct effects of the storm, including flooding.
With the 2025 Texas Hill Country death toll rising to at least 130, and at least 160 still missing, this will likely be the third worst, if not second worst, flooding event in recorded Texas history.
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