Few Texas Homeowners Hit by Extreme Rains Have Flood Insurance

The narrow canyons and shallow soils in the central Texas area pummeled by recent storms long ago earned it the nickname of “Flash Flood Alley.” Yet only a fraction of homeowners there have flood insurance, data show.

In Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River swelled, killing more than 90 people, only 2% of homeowners hold federal flood insurance. In neighboring Kendall, another hard-hit county, that share is less than 5%.

In fact, the share of homeowners with federal flood insurance doesn’t reach 10% in any of the 21 counties named in Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s disaster declaration issued on Saturday.

Those ...