Texas Floodplain Management Plan

The floodplain plan documents flood risk and mitigation alternatives in the following four jurisdictions:

Aransas County, Texas
The City of Aransas Pass, Texas
The Town of Fulton, Texas
The City of Rockport, Texas

In 2016, these governmental entities joined together to develop a multi-jurisdictional floodplain management plan to serve two purposes:

1. To minimize flood risk in their communities;

2. To enable residents to receive the greatest reductions possible on flood insurance premiums through the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System. (The City of Rockport and Aransas County are currently in the process of entering the Community Rating System. The City of Aransas Pass and the Town of Fulton have expressed interest in joining in the future.)

ARANSAS COUNTY KNOWN HIGH FLOODING HAZARDS: Flooding refers to a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land. Three types of flooding occur in the planning area: Coastal Flooding, Flash Flooding; and Riverine Flooding.

June 2015 Flood

Flash Flooding in Aransas Pass, June 2015 (Photo: Kristi)

Types of Flooding Hazards

Coastal Flooding- Coastal Flooding (Storm Surge) The principal type of flood posing the greatest risk in terms of potential impacts to the planning area, due to geographic location and topography, is coastal flooding. Coastal flooding refers to irregular tidal water and wave action that temporarily inundates areas near land-ocean boundaries.

Flash Flooding- Flash floods result from convective precipitation usually due to intense thunderstorms or sudden release from an upstream impoundment created behind a dam, landslide, or levee. Flash floods are distinguished from a regular flood by a timescale less than six hours. Flooding from excessive rainfall in coastal Texas usually occurs between July and October.

Riverine Flooding- Riverine floods, slower in nature, occur when water from sustained rainfall or rapid snow melt overflows a waterway once the volume of water exceeds the capacity of the waterway.

Below is a historical flash flooding chart portraying events between April, 1997 and June 2015 for the planning area.

Flooding Chart