Tropical Storm Imelda
NFIP flood claims
- Texas is the only state listed, with 100.0% of the storm’s paid claims.
- In 2024 dollars (CPI-U), its median paid claim, $61,371, is 142.4% above the middle value of the storm medians ($25,316).
- By paid claims (9,914), Tropical Storm Imelda is the 14th highest of 42 named storms covered here, and the 6th highest of 42 by median paid claim in 2024 dollars.
- Harris County, TX alone accounts for 36.1% of the storm’s paid claims, followed by Jefferson County, TX and Orange County, TX.
Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA NfipClaims (v3, data as of 2026-09-09, retrieved 2026-10-12); CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items (CUUR0000SA0), annual average (BLS Public Data API v1, annual averages 2005-2025, retrieved 2026-10-12). Not an official federal report.
Landfall and storm report
The National Hurricane Center’s HURDAT2 best track of Tropical Storm Imelda (AL112019, retrieved 2026-10-12) records 1 landfall, in or near a US county. It came on 2019-09-17 at 17:45 UTC, as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 40 kt: HURDAT2 position 28.9N 95.4W, rounded to 0.1°; county containing or nearest it: Brazoria County, TX.
| Date | Time (UTC) | Position | Strength | Wind (kt) | Pressure (mb) | County containing or nearest the position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-09-17 | 17:45 | 28.9N 95.4W | tropical storm | 40 | 1,003 | Brazoria County, TX |
National Hurricane Center report
From the NHC Tropical Cyclone Report on Tropical Storm Imelda (retrieved 2026-10-12):
“Imelda was a short-lived tropical storm that moved inland over Texas just after it developed.”
“The storm and its remnants meandered inland for a couple of days after landfall and produced historic rainfall totals and devastating flooding over portions of southeastern Texas.”
NFIP paid building claims in Tropical Storm Imelda
NFIP claims: amounts paid, not repair cost. Window: event: Tropical Storm Imelda, year of loss 2019; 9,914 paid claims; median $50,017, half of them between $20,527 (Q1) and $80,205 (Q3), in nominal dollars. Median in 2024 dollars (CPI-U): $61,371, a monetary adjustment, not today’s cost of repair.
Paid claims by year of loss
| Year of loss | Paid claims |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 9,914 |
Paid claims by state
| State | Paid claims | Median paid |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 9,914 | $50,017 |
Counties with the most paid claims
| County | FIPS | Paid claims |
|---|---|---|
| Harris County | 48201 | 3,581 |
| Jefferson County | 48245 | 2,452 |
| Orange County | 48361 | 2,014 |
| Montgomery County | 48339 | 962 |
| Liberty County | 48291 | 395 |
| Chambers County | 48071 | 325 |
Questions about Tropical Storm Imelda flood claims
How many flood insurance claims were paid after Tropical Storm Imelda?
9,914 NFIP building claims carrying FEMA’s Tropical Storm Imelda event label were paid (event: Tropical Storm Imelda, year of loss 2019), with a median of $50,017; half of them fall between $20,527 and $80,205. These are amounts paid, not repair cost.
Which counties had the most Tropical Storm Imelda flood claims?
Harris County, TX (3,581), Jefferson County, TX (2,452) and Orange County, TX (2,014), across 1 state listed.
What is the median Tropical Storm Imelda flood claim in 2024 dollars?
$61,371 once each claim is adjusted with the CPI-U, against $50,017 in nominal dollars: a monetary adjustment, not today’s cost of repair.
Related tools
Paid claims of Tropical Storm Imelda are not repair estimates: to estimate the cleanup of a flooded basement from published cost-guide rates, use the basement water damage repair cost calculator; for water removal and drying after any water loss, the water damage and mitigation calculator.
To set these figures against every State on one claims window, amounts paid, not repair cost: NFIP paid building claims by state.
Before using these figures
A storm total counts NFIP-insured buildings with a paid claim, not all the damage of the storm. Method and limits.
Source and notice
- Storm = floodEvent "Tropical Storm Imelda" with yearOfLoss 2019; window of the extraction: yearOfLoss 2005-2025.
This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).