A study puts the spotlight on Texas as the leading U.S. state by far for flood-related deaths, with more than 1,000 of them from 1959 to 2019

In the wake of last week’s Texas floods that killed more than 100 people, a Post analysis found the number of U.S. freshwater flood fatalities has ticked up in recent years.

The July 4 Texas Hill Country flash flooding event is the latest to hit the region known as “Flash Flood Alley,” as Texas continues to lead the U.S. in flood-related deaths. The greatest number of flood deaths in the U.

According to local authorities, at least 109 people died on July 4 and 5, most of which were swept up in floodwaters from campgrounds along the Guadalupe River. That’s just shy of the 118 deaths reported as a result of Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Average annual number of flood-related deaths in the U.S. between 2000 and 2024, though this figure has increased in recent years. According to a Washington Post analysis , most fatal floods are associated with tropical storms, “which studies show have become stronger and wetter amid rising global temperatures.”

Steep hills, shallow soils and a fault zone have made Hill Country, also called "flash flood alley," one of the state's most dangerous regions.

Florida lacks the hilly topography that supercharged torrential rain into deadly inundations in Central Texas over the July Fourth weekend, but a host of factors make the Sunshine State the most flood-prone of any other.

Central Texas braces for more rain after deadly floods; officials warn of renewed flash flood risk in already saturated areas. Newsweek's live blog is closed.