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Use the links and information on this page to help protect yourself, your family and your property from floods.

Before a Flood: Resources to Be Prepared

Start by checking if you live or work in a floodplain, signing up for emergency alerts, making a plan and assembling an emergency kit. Call your insurance agent to get a quote for flood insurance. It’s the number one way to protect your finances.

You should also store important papers, photographs or valuables in watertight containers, placed on a high shelf. There may be some other improvements that you can make to protect your house or business from flooding. Reach out to Austin’s Floodplain Office for technical assistance.

View Austin's floodplain maps and drainage systems. 

Sign up for emergency alerts. 

FEMA's site can help you buy flood insurance, file a claim and learn more about flooding. 

This U.S. government site walks you through how to make a plan for flooding and other disasters. 

Tips and resources from Austin's Economic Development Department. 

  

 

During a Flood: Resources to Stay Safe

Austin lies in the heart of Flash Flood Alley, and it is critical that you be alert to the dangers of flooding both in your home and on the road.

  • Monitor local media or use the links below.
  • Avoid driving. If you see water over a road, turn around and find another route.
  • Stay away from creeks, trails, culverts, ponds and other drainage infrastructure.
  • If water starts to rise, seek higher ground. This may mean getting on your roof.

Real-time information about road closures due to flooding. 

Get local forecast, weather warnings and radar from the National Weather Service. 

Get real-time rainfall and stream flow data. 

 

After a Flood: Resources for Recovery

The period after a flood is crucial for ensuring your safety and beginning the recovery process. If your home, yard or road flooded, please report the flooding to Austin 3-1-1.

Up-to-date, official information from the City of Austin and Travis County. 

Get guidance from Development Services on safely returning to your home inspecting for damage.  

Guidelines for safely cleaning after a disaster. 

Texas Department of Insurance

Information about storm damage to homes and flood damage to cars. 

Find a list of resources that can provide support.  

Grants for eligible Austin residents for repairs that pose an immediate threat to life or safety. 

Learn More

Expand the drop-down boxes to learn more about the following flood-related topics.

Austin’s Floodplains
Flood Early Warning System

The Flood Early Warning System monitors rainfall, water levels, and low water crossings in Austin 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. During a flood, we work closely with emergency managers for the most effective and timely community response.

  • Network of Gauges:

  • More than 100rain or creek level gauges

  • Flashing lights or automated barricades at dozens of low water crossings

  • Gauge-adjusted radar rainfall

  • Cameras at low water crossings

  • Predictive modeling and mapping

  • Water Level Data:

  • City of Austin gauges

  • LCRA Hydromet

  • USGS

Even with this technology, every storm is different, and sudden flooding can occur faster than we can respond. More than 10,000 buildings and 300 bridges in Austin are subject to flooding.

Flooding can also occur before stormwater even reaches a creek, which is known as local flooding. Austin has over 1,100 miles of storm drain pipes and small ditches to help our streets and neighborhoods drain and reduce the risk of local flooding. But in many of our older or annexed neighborhoods, the storm drain systems are inadequate or in poor condition. It can be challenging and expensive to upgrade these systems without affecting homes in the nearby floodplains.

The storm drain system generally consists of inlets to catch water, pipes or ditches to carry water and an outfall to release the water. The water may be released into a detention or water quality pond, or it may be released directly into a creek.

Turn Around, Don't Drown!®

About 75% of flood-related deaths in Texas occur in vehicles. At night, during heavy storms, it may be difficult to see that a road is flooded. Survivors have told us that they did not even see water on the road until their vehicle stalled in it.

If you must drive, it’s important to understand that not all flooded roads will be barricaded, take the following precautions:

  • Avoid low water crossings.

  • Actively look for water over the road.

  • Turn around if a road is barricaded or if water is over the road. Don’t risk drowning by trying to cross it and find an alternate route. Keep in mind that the road may be heavily damaged underneath the floodwater.  

Penalties for driving around a barricade

It is a Class B misdemeanor in Texas to drive around a barricade at a flooded road. This is the same as a DWI. If caught, you may be arrested, have your car impounded, spend up to 180 days in jail and/or be fined up to $2000. You may also be charged for the cost of your rescue. 

Roads in Austin prone to flooding

In the right circumstances, almost any road can flood. The ones listed below are the ones that flood most frequently:

  • W. 12th St. from Lamar to Shoal Creek Blvd.

  • W. 32nd St. at Hemphill Park

  • E. 38 1/2 St. between Grayson and Airport Blvd.

  • Adelphi Ln. between Scribe Dr. and Waters Park Rd.

  • E. Alpine Rd. between Willow Springs and Warehouse Row

  • Burleson Rd. between U.S. 183 and FM 973

  • Carson Creek Blvd. between Cool Shadow Dr. and Warrior Ln.

  • Colton-Bluff Springs Rd. by Alum Rock Dr.

  • Convict Hill Rd. between Flaming Oak Place and MoPac

  • David Moore Dr. north of Sweetwater River Dr.

  • Delwau Ln. at Shelton Rd.

  • W. Dittmar between Loganberry and S. Congress

  • Johnny Morris Rd. between FM 969 and Loyola Ln.

  • Lakewood Dr., 6700 block

  • Lamar Blvd. between 9th St. and 15th St.

  • W. Monroe St. between S. First and Roma St.

  • McNeil Dr. between Camino and Burnet

  • Nuckols Crossing at Teri Rd.

  • Parkfield Dr. from Thornridge to Mearns Meadow

  • Possum Trot between Inland Place and Quarry Rd.

  • Old San Antonio Rd. between FM 1626 and IH 35

  • Old Spicewood Springs Road, between Loop 360 and Spicewood Springs Rd.

  • O’Neal Ln., between MoPac service road and Waters Park Rd.

  • Posten Ln., 7900 block

  • River Hills Rd., off Cuernavaca

  • Rogge Ln. between Ridgemont and Delwood Dr.

  • Rutland from Mearns Meadow to N. Lamar

  • Spicewood Springs Road, between Loop 360 and Old Lampasas Trl.

  • Springdale Rd. from Ferguson to Breeds Hill Dr.

  • Wasson Rd. near S. Congress Ave.

  • Waters Park Rd. between 183 and MoPac 

To find out if a road is flooded, check www.ATXfloods.com. 

What is a 100-Year Storm?

The 100-year storm is an event that has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year. To put that in perspective, during the span of a 30-year mortgage, there is a 26% chance that a 100-year event will occur.

The amount of rainfall necessary to produce a 100-year storm depends on the duration of the storm and what area it impacts.

  • If the rain falls over 3 hours, it takes over 7 inches for it to be classified as a 100-year rainfall.

  • If those same 7 inches fall over 3 days, it would be considered a much smaller rainfall event. 

Austin’s History of Large Storms

In September 2010, Tropical Storm Hermine produced rainfall totals approaching a 100-year storm over portions of the Bull Creek watershed. The flood events on October 30, 2015, and May 26, 2016, produced rainfall greater than 13 inches in eight hours in portions of the Onion Creek and Dry Creek East watersheds.

Even if a large storm has recently occurred, there is the same percent chance of an equally large storm occurring the following year.