Does Riverside flood?

Riverside, Brownsville, TX · ZIP code 78520: the ZIP code on 38 of the 39 flood insurance claims counted here. ZIP codes do not follow neighborhood lines.

Yes. Insured properties in and around Riverside have filed flood claims. About 6.7% of Riverside’s mapped area is inside FEMA’s Special Flood Hazard Area; the rest is in moderate or minimal-hazard Zone X. NFIP flood insurance records list 39 claims from the Census block groups that cover Riverside, from 1978 through 2021. 24 of them received a payment, totaling $206,213 (not adjusted for inflation). The busiest years were 1983 (8 claims), 2015 (5 claims), 1984 (4 claims).

What this page counts as Riverside

We could not find an openly licensed official boundary for Riverside, so this page uses a census-based area. For this page, Riverside means the 2010 Census block groups whose center lies within 1.6 km (1.0 miles) of the U.S. Geological Survey (GNIS) map point for Riverside (feature 1377499) and inside the Brownsville city limits (U.S. Census Bureau), each block group going to the nearest of the places we cover. Every number below is for exactly those block groups (listed in “How these numbers were made”), so the edges are approximate and may include or leave out a few blocks people would call Riverside. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb, 2010 Census Block Groups and U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) domestic names.

Past claims do not predict future flooding, and a neighborhood figure cannot tell you about one building. Look up the exact address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and get flood insurance quotes before you sign a lease or a contract.

Check a specific address in Riverside

Neighborhood figures are averages. Our address check looks up the FEMA flood zone at one address, from the same public maps: check if your address is in a flood zone.

Flood zones street by street in Riverside

The named streets in Riverside, longest first, with how much of each street’s length inside Riverside lies in FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (the Special Flood Hazard Area, zones A and V). Length is the part inside Riverside; the main zone is the FEMA zone covering most of that length. A street can cross several zones, so the zone at one address can differ from the street’s main zone: check the address above for that. 23 shorter streets are not listed.

Streets: U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb, Transportation (primary, secondary and local roads). Flood zones: FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL), Flood Hazard Zones and FIRM Panels, retrieved October 31, 2026. Each street is clipped to the area boundary and measured in an equal-area projection. Street lengths are rounded.

Flood zones in Riverside

Share of Riverside’s mapped area (about 2.12 km²) in each FEMA flood zone, from FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL), Flood Hazard Zones and FIRM Panels. Mapped base flood elevations inside the neighborhood range from 35 to 35 feet. Effective date of the FIRM panel(s) covering it (48061C0575F): February 16, 2018.

What the zones mean

Zone AE (and A, AH, AO)

High-risk: part of the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), the area FEMA maps as having a 1-percent chance of flooding in any given year (the “100-year” or base flood). AE areas have a mapped base flood elevation.

Zone VE (and V)

High-risk coastal areas, also in the SFHA, where the base flood is expected to bring additional hazards from storm waves.

Zone X (shaded)

Moderate hazard: between the limits of the 1-percent and the 0.2-percent-annual-chance (“500-year”) flood.

Zone X (unshaded)

Minimal hazard: outside the SFHA and higher than the 0.2-percent-annual-chance flood elevation. Minimal is not zero: flood claims are filed from X zones too.

Source: FEMA Glossary: Flood Zones.

Flood insurance claims over time

Claims filed under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) from the 2010 Census block groups that cover Riverside. This area is made of whole block groups, so every claim counted here comes from inside it. Only insured properties appear, so these counts understate total flooding.

By decade

By year of loss

Named flood events with the most claims

• Flooding: 7 claims
• Hurricane Allen: 4 claims
• Hurricane Dolly: 2 claims
• Fall severe storms: 2 claims

FEMA labels some events only as “Flooding”. Claims by the flood zone the property was rated in:

• X/B/C (moderate or minimal): 30
• Not reported: 5
• A/AE/AH/AO (high risk): 4

How much is flood insurance in Riverside?

The typical National Flood Insurance Program policy on single-family homes in Riverside costs $636 a year: the median of 23 policies that started between August 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026. Half of them cost between $535 and $726. That is the full amount paid for the year, the premium plus FEMA’s fees and surcharges, and every one of these policies is priced under Risk Rating 2.0. A quote for one building can be far from this: its elevation, foundation, age, coverage and deductible all change the price. Private flood insurance is not included.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Dataset: FIMA NFIP Redacted Policies - v3, computed October 31, 2026.

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Before you rent or buy in Riverside

• Look up the exact address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center; a neighborhood can mix high-risk and minimal-hazard zones.
• Ask the landlord or seller about past flooding and flood insurance claims at the property.
• Get a flood insurance quote early: new NFIP policies usually take 30 days to start (FloodSmart (NFIP): Buy a Flood Insurance Policy).
• Ask which floor the unit is on and where parking, storage and mechanical equipment sit.

Living in Riverside

Flood maps are only one part of choosing a neighborhood. To compare Riverside with other Brownsville neighborhoods on more than flooding, see Brownsville on StrollPlace.

Buyer and renter FAQ

FAQ sources: FloodSmart (NFIP): Buy a Flood Insurance Policy; FEMA Fact Sheet: Think you don’t need flood insurance? Think again (Jan. 21, 2025); 44 CFR 61.11, Effective date and time of coverage.

Nearby neighborhoods

• Does Four Corners flood?

How these numbers were made

Area: the census-based definition above, using U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb, 2010 Census Block Groups and U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) domestic names. Flood zone shares: the area polygon intersected with FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL), Flood Hazard Zones and FIRM Panels, area computed in an equal-area projection; retrieved October 31, 2026. Claims: OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3 records for Cameron County (county code 48061), dataset as of September 8, 2026, retrieved October 31, 2026. Claims are counted for exactly the block groups that make up the area. Block groups used: 480610136003, 480610136002, 480610136004, 480610137004, 480610137001, 480610137003. Neighboring pages can share a block group, so their counts can overlap. Paid totals add building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments and are not adjusted for inflation; a claim whose FEMA record shows a negative payment (an adjustment) counts as zero. See the methodology.

Sources

1. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), FEMA OpenFEMA Dataset: FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims - v3. Retrieved on October 31, 2026.
2. FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL), Flood Hazard Zones and FIRM Panels. Retrieved on October 31, 2026.
3. U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb, 2010 Census Block Groups and U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) domestic names.
4. FEMA Glossary: Flood Zones.
5. FloodSmart (NFIP): Buy a Flood Insurance Policy.
6. FEMA Fact Sheet: Think you don’t need flood insurance? Think again (Jan. 21, 2025).
7. 44 CFR 61.11, Effective date and time of coverage.
8. OpenFEMA Terms and Conditions.
9. FEMA OpenFEMA Dataset: FIMA NFIP Redacted Policies - v3.
10. OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Policies v3.
11. OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3.
12. USDA Forest Service, Wildfire Risk to Communities, community summaries.
13. Wildfire Risk to Communities methods.
14. Texas Department of Insurance, Texas homeowners insurance market overview.
15. Texas Department of Insurance, Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Overview.
16. Texas FAIR Plan Association Fact Book, Q2 2026.
17. U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb, Transportation (primary, secondary and local roads).

Data as of September 8, 2026 (FEMA claims) and October 31, 2026 (flood zones). Page last updated October 31, 2026.