Background
In 2015, Texas had two separate events that qualified for disaster recovery funding. Both events resulted from heavy rains and winds that caused severe damage across nearly half the state, or 134,000 square miles. The May events occurred May 4 to June 23, 2015. During the first part of May, many locations across the state received well above normal rainfall, creating saturated ground conditions. When the Memorial Day weekend arrived, the saturated soil forced rain runoff directly into rivers, streams, and flash-flood prone areas. Certain areas of Texas saw more than 20 inches of rainfall in a matter of days. In total, about 8 million acre-feet of water flowed into the state’s reservoirs.
Central and eastern Texas were also hit by dangerous flooding October 22 through October 31 when rainfall patterns converged with remnants of Hurricane Patricia.
In total, 116 counties were impacted by these two disaster events, with 19 counties designated as impacted by both disasters. “Most impacted” county designations by HUD include Harris, Hays, Hidalgo, and Travis.