Free referral · 24/7 · Webb County
Water Damage Restoration in Webb County, TX
Webb County averages just 22.7 inches of rain a year, yet hurricanes account for 10 of its 22 federal disaster declarations, and the Rio Grande at Laredo reaches flood stage at 8 feet. One call reaches vetted local water-damage pros, 24/7.
Webb County averages 22.7 inches of rain a year, so water damage here comes from short, intense storms rather than steady wet weather. Flooding drives much of it: the county has been covered by 22 federal disaster declarations, including one flood and ten hurricanes, and NWS Corpus Christi held a flood watch over the area from July 14 to July 17, 2026. Low ground along Zacate Creek has taken the worst of it since at least the June 1954 Rio Grande flood, which crested near 62 feet.
Water-damage risk in Webb County
16
flood, hurricane & storm disasters declared in Webb County (FEMA)
2024
most recent flood/storm declaration: Hurricane Beryl (FEMA)
2
active flood & storm events tracked in Webb County right now (live)
Sources: FEMA OpenFEMA — federally-declared disaster history (county FIPS 48479) · NOAA NCEI — 1991–2020 Climate Normals (ENCINAL, TX US)
Recent events in Webb County
Live from the DisasterStatus event tracker — Webb County is named in each event's affected area.
Why Webb County homes flood
Webb County drains southwest to the Rio Grande, which forms the county line at Laredo. Inland runoff reaches the river through creeks rather than across a coastal plain: the Chacon Creek watershed covers roughly 155 square miles of city and county land in five distinct drainage systems, all draining south and southwesterly into the Rio Grande, while Zacate Creek runs through older central neighborhoods toward downtown. Average annual precipitation of 22.7 inches is low, but the county's flooding has come from a small number of heavy events rather than from steady rain.
The mapped floodplain has widened. FEMA's Chacon Creek restudy brought areas originally outside the floodplain into the 100-year and 500-year floodplain and raised water-surface elevations along the channel compared with the earlier study, and the county's preliminary Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps cover incorporated and unincorporated areas alike. Behind those maps is a real record: the June 29, 1954 Rio Grande flood, driven by Hurricane Alice, crested near 62 feet and pushed water into downtown streets and homes along Zacate Creek — the largest since 1865. The 1932 flood killed 18. July 2010 crested near 42 feet. Federally declared disasters total 22, ten of them hurricanes, most recently Beryl in 2024.
For a homeowner here, flood exposure tracks the creeks, not the river alone, and a property mapped as low-risk under older panels may sit inside current zones. Creek and street-backup water arrives with sediment, which shapes the drying and disinfection sequence described in the water damage restoration guide.
Flood repair permits & inspections
Two different offices issue repair permits here, depending on where the damaged property sits. In unincorporated areas the county Planning Department handles development and utility permitting: a Development Determination and Utility Connection application comes first and is required before any other application, while floodplain work is permitted separately under the county Flood Damage Prevention Order adopted March 25, 2008. Water and sewer reconnection and certificates of compliance are filed as their own applications, each with a separate fee. Inside Laredo city limits, the city's Building Development Services Department issues building permits and runs permit inspections instead. Applications ask for recorded ownership documents and identification.
| Permit / inspection | When it applies |
|---|---|
| Development Determination & Utility Connection Application | The county Planning Department lists this as required prior to any other application, so it is the first filing for repair or reconstruction work in unincorporated areas. Fees are listed as $30 for residential and non-residential and $100 for commercial. Submission requires the original application, a recorded ownership document, and a copy of a photo ID or driver's license. The resulting determination number (DCN) is then required on the floodplain, water/sewer, and certificate of compliance applications. The issuer is the county rather than a city. |
| Floodplain Development Application | Required for development in the county's special flood hazard areas, which covers rebuilding work on flood-damaged structures outside city limits. The Planning Department lists the fee as $50 per structure for residential and non-residential and $200 for commercial, and requires the original application, recorded ownership, an ID copy, and the determination number (DCN) from the prior development determination. Floodplain permitting is governed by the county Flood Damage Prevention Order, adopted March 25, 2008. The issuer is the county rather than a city. |
| Water/Sewer Permit Application | A separate county permit covering water and sewer service connections, relevant when flooding damages service lines or a meter must be reset during repairs. The listed fee is $30 per meter for residential and non-residential; the Planning Department notes that commercial connections require City approval first. Requires the original application, recorded ownership, an ID copy, and the determination number. |
| Certificate of Compliance Application | Filed with the county Planning Department at $30 per meter for residential and non-residential and $100 for commercial. Along with the original application, recorded ownership, ID copy, and determination number, the department also requires a copy of a garbage disposal contract. |
| City of Laredo Building Development Services Department | For damaged property inside Laredo city limits, the county Planning Department is not the issuer. The city's open data portal describes this department as responsible for building permits, permit inspections, zoning enforcement, and the one-stop shop for development, which makes it the permitting and inspection authority for structural, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical repair work within the city. |
Floodplain & drainage ordinances
- Webb County Flood Damage Prevention Order, Article 2 — "Substantial Improvement" and "Substantial Damage" definitions
- Repair work counts as a substantial improvement when its cost equals or exceeds 50 percent of the structure's market value before the start of construction, which forces the whole building up to current flood standards rather than a like-for-like restoration. Substantial damage applies the same 50 percent test to the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition, and a structure meeting it is treated as substantially improved regardless of the repair actually performed. Repairs limited to correcting cited health, sanitary, or safety code violations are excluded.
- Webb County Flood Damage Prevention Order, Article 5, Section B(1) — Residential Construction elevation and freeboard
- New construction and substantial improvement of a residential structure must have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated at least eighteen inches above the base flood elevation, and a registered professional engineer or land surveyor must certify that elevation to the Floodplain Administrator. Article 2 sets the same eighteen-inch freeboard for all residential and non-residential development that is not a critical facility, so a rebuild crossing the 50 percent threshold can require raising the floor rather than restoring it in place.
- Webb County Flood Damage Prevention Order, Article 5, Section A — General Standards for materials and service equipment
- The general standards reach the materials and equipment used in a repair: new construction and substantial improvements must be built with materials resistant to flood damage, and electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, and air-conditioning equipment must be designed or located to prevent water from entering or accumulating during flooding. New or replacement electrical components must be elevated at or above the design flood elevation or be watertight, and replacement water supply and sanitary sewage systems must be designed to minimize floodwater infiltration.
- Webb County Flood Damage Prevention Order, Article 3, Section C — Establishment of Development Permit
- A floodplain determination issued by the Floodplain Administrator is required for all construction, substantial improvement, repairs, rehabilitation, and other development, and no development activity may commence until that determination is issued. Where the work will not occur within or otherwise impact a regulated flood hazard area, an exemption certificate is issued instead, and it may carry conditions or limitations.
- Webb County Flood Damage Prevention Order, Article 3, Section B(2) — Basis for Establishing the Areas of Special Flood Hazard
- Regulation extends beyond the mapped flood zones. Land within 100 feet of a Zone A designation on the FIRM, and land within 100 feet of a stream center line shown on USGS or US Topo maps whether or not that stream is depicted on the FIRM, is regulated as special flood hazard area unless an acceptable detailed hydrologic and hydraulic study confirms the site lies outside the 1 percent chance flood. The Commissioners Court adopted this after finding the approximate Zone A mapping across the area deficient for permitting and for establishing base flood elevations.
Local water-damage notes
- Chacon Creek flood project: 73 home buyouts, 250 elevations — The Chacon Creek project, developed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since 2003, pairs flood management with ecosystem restoration and recreation along the creek. Its flood component calls for permanently evacuating 73 homes along Chacon Creek and elevating 250 more out of the floodplain, with vacated properties repurposed for recreational use. Laredo received $51.9 million in federal funding in 2020, but city environmental services reported in 2021 that the 2018 feasibility study needed updating before the work could move to design and construction.
- Sandbags are distributed per storm, not from a standing depot — Laredo opens sandbag sites ahead of individual storms rather than running a year-round pickup point, so the location changes between events. Public works crews supplied sand and bags at the El Metro Park and Ride at 1900 Hillside Road in June 2024, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., and at the Joe A. Guerra Laredo Public Library parking lot in July 2024, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a limit of five sandbags per family. Residents were asked to bring their own shovels, and the Public Works Department assisted elderly residents unable to collect bags themselves.
- Rio Bravo and El Cenizo run on a county water system, not Laredo's — Water and sewer service in Rio Bravo and El Cenizo comes from Webb County Water Utilities rather than the City of Laredo. The county department operates two water and wastewater treatment facilities serving roughly 2,000 connections and about 6,000 customers in the Rio Bravo area, staffed continuously. Service has been interrupted repeatedly: the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued a boil water notice in late October 2025 over high turbidity levels, and the county distributed potable water to affected residents each morning until samples cleared.
Cleanup & recovery services nearby
- Trashco Inc. — a locally owned Laredo waste hauler renting 15-, 30-, and 40-yard roll-off containers, with same-day service available for house cleanouts and demolition debris
- Rush Disposal — an independent, non-franchise roll-off dumpster operator running 10- through 40-yard containers across Laredo and outlying Webb County communities including Bruni and Rio Bravo
- Monaco Self Storage — climate-controlled and standard storage units on McPherson Road, month-to-month, for holding furniture, electronics, and documents while a home is repaired
- Laredo Trees — a San Bernardo Avenue tree service handling storm-damaged and fallen trees, palm removal, limbing, cabling and bracing, and stump grinding
By the numbers
- Riverine flooding risk rating — FEMA's National Risk Index rates Webb County's riverine flooding hazard above the composite rating it assigns the county overall.
- Relatively High
- Riverine flood events on record — The event count behind the county's National Risk Index annualized riverine flooding frequency of 2.7 per year.
- 65
- Expected annual loss from riverine flooding — FEMA's modeled average yearly loss to buildings, population and agriculture in the county from riverine flooding.
- $850,060
- National Risk Index percentile — The county's composite natural-hazard risk ranks above roughly 89 percent of US counties, carrying a Relatively Moderate rating.
- 89.1
- Median year housing was built — Half of the county's housing stock predates 1996, the era of plumbing and building materials a water-loss crew is most likely to encounter.
- 1996
- Social vulnerability rating — Scored 72.6 by FEMA, with community resilience rated Very Low — both factors slow household recovery after a loss.
- Very High