Hurricane Central

Hurricane season runs June 1 to Nov. 30, though storms sometimes occur before and after those dates.

Seven steps to take NOW to prepare a plan to protect your family, pets and property.

Put together an emergency supply kit.
Create a communication plan with your family.
Know where to go.
Register for the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry (STEAR).
Buy flood insurance.
Prepare your home.
Stay alert.

Learn more about these tips at the Governor’s Hurricane Center: https://gov.texas.gov/hurricane

Flooding is a major risk in Texas throughout the year, but especially when a tropical storm or hurricane threatens the state.

IF YOU ARE UNDER A FLOOD WARNING, FIND SAFE SHELTER RIGHT AWAY

Do not walk, swim, or drive through flood waters.

Turn Around, Don’t Drown!

Stay off of bridges over fast-moving water.
Determine how best to protect yourself based on the type of flooding.
Evacuate if told to do so.
Move to higher ground or a higher floor.
Stay where you are.

Flooding from Hurricane Harvey damaged more than 200,000 homes and apartment buildings in Harris County, and 75% of these residences were located outside the 100-year flood plain.

ICT strongly encourages Texans throughout the state to consider purchasing flood insurance. Homeowners and renters insurance does not typically cover flood damage. Without flood insurance, most residents have to pay out of pocket or take out loans to repair and replace damaged items. With flood insurance, you're able to recover faster and more fully.

Plan ahead: Unless obtained upon the purchase of a new home, NFIP flood insurance policies take 30 days to take effect.

Comprehensive insurance added to an auto insurance policy provides coverage for your vehicle from flood damage and other weather-related events.

Find more information about the dangers of flooding in Texas and how to prepare at our Texas Floods resource page.

Texas Hurricanes

Texas has been hit by 18 hurricanes since the National Weather Service began naming hurricanes in 1954, but the state experienced numerous storms before that as well. The 1900 hurricane in Galveston remains the deadliest storm in U.S. history with the loss of at least 6,000 lives.

The 2019 forecast from the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University predicts a "slightly below-average Atlantic hurricane season." Meteorologist Phil Klotzbach and other experts from Colorado State University – among the nation's top seasonal hurricane forecasters – predict 13 named tropical storms will form, five of which will become hurricanes.

An average season has 12 tropical storms, six of which are hurricanes.

Of the five predicted hurricanes, two are expected to spin into major hurricanes – Category 3, 4 or 5 – with sustained wind speeds of 111 mph or greater. The group said there's a near-average chance for major hurricanes to make landfall along the U.S. coastline. Klotzbach put the chance of a major hurricane strike at 39%.

The names of 2019 storms are listed below.

Paths of Texas Hurricanes

Every hurricane that approaches Texas takes its own unique path once making landfall. Most hurricanes veer north and eastward upon landfall, while others have continued westward paths. Hurricane Paths shows the direction of every named hurricane that has hit Texas.

Hurricane Harvey, August 25, 2017

Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on the Texas coast on Friday, August 25, 2017. Harvey battered and drenched Texas for days before finally moving out of the state. The heavy rains from Harvey caused catastrophic flooding throughout the Coastal Bend Region, the Houston area and Southeast Texas.

Within 48 hours, Harvey grew from a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico to a Category 4 hurricane with wind gusts exceeding 150 mph. Harvey made landfall on the evening of Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, just east of Corpus Christi, striking the communities of Port Aransas and Rockport. Hurricane Harvey moved slowly forcing coastal residents to withstand hurricane force winds for several hours. Its storm surge reached 12 feet.

As Hurricane Harvey finally moved inland, it became a tremendous rain-making event that flooded a huge portion of southeast Texas including Houston, Beaumont and Port Arthur. A record 60 inches of rain fell in Jefferson County. Tens of thousands of homes were flooded, most of them without flood insurance. A quarter of a million cars and trucks were flooded.

The Insurance Council of Texas placed insured losses on Hurricane Harvey at $19 billion, making it the costliest storm to ever hit Texas. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) incurred approximately $1.61 billion in losses. The last hurricane to strike Texas prior to Harvey was Hurricane Ike on September 13, 2008. Until Harvey took the top spot, Ike had been the costliest storm in the state with $12 billion in insured losses.

The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) premiered its new documentary on Hurricane Harvey (watch it above) before 1,000 first responders at this year’s Coastal Bend Hurricane Conference in Robstown. The video describes the catastrophic damage and the people who lived through the costliest storm in Texas history.

Hurricane Harvey Fact Sheet

TDI Hurricane Harvey Data Call Report

Watch a condensed version of our Hurricane Harvey video below.

Hurricane Ike, September 13, 2008

Immediately after Hurricane Ike made landfall causing devastation in the Galveston area, the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT began working on the production of a video documentary that would focus on the storm’s impact. ICT’s Mark Hanna got approval from ICT’s Board of Directors to reach out to KLRU-TV and utilize their cameramen and editors to document what happened from the 2008 storm. The hour-long documentary, Hurricane Ike, 09.13.08, was aired on 10 PBS television stations in Texas. The documentary was one of the reasons why ICT was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award for Public Awareness from the National Hurricane Conference in 2010. Below are the 60-minute and reduced 30-minute versions of the documentary.