Floodwater covering a city street and reaching the doors of parked cars after a flash flood

Flood Damage Restoration in Dallas-Fort Worth

When creek or street water gets inside, it carries everything it crossed. Stay out of it, then call. The line connects you with an independent DFW company that handles flood cleanup.

Call (469) 649-7066 Can Dallas flood? The history

Flood restoration in Dallas starts with the kind of water

Rain that rises from a street, a yard or a creek and comes in under the doors is not the same as water from a broken pipe, and a flood restoration company in Dallas treats it differently from the first minute.

The water damage standard most restoration companies follow, ANSI/IICRC S500, classes water that rises out of rivers and creeks as Category 3, the most contaminated group, along with sewage. On its way into a house it has crossed lawns treated with chemicals, overflowing storm sewers, parking lots and garages. Whatever it soaked, it left that behind.

That is why flood cleanup is slower and more careful than drying a leak. More gets torn out, everything left behind is cleaned and treated, and the people doing it wear protective gear. Water Damage Pro Dallas is only the phone line in this picture. Your call goes to a restoration company that is locally owned and independent of the line, and the work is that company's.

Empty room with a brown waterline and stained lower drywall left behind after floodwater

While the water is still up: rules that keep people alive

Turn around, don't drown

The National Weather Service warns that about six inches of water reaches the bottom of most cars and can stall them or cost you control, a foot of water floats many vehicles, and two feet of rushing water can carry off most vehicles, pickups and SUVs included. You cannot see whether the road under the water is still there. Find another route.

Inside the house

Do not walk through water that may touch outlets, cords, a water heater or a furnace. If the electric panel is on a dry floor you can reach without wading, switch off the breakers; if not, call Oncor or an electrician and wait outside. A gas smell means everyone leaves and you call 911 and Atmos Energy from the street.

Keep skin out of it

Floodwater can carry sewage, fuel and chemicals. Keep children and pets away from it, and do not let anyone play or wade in it. Wash with soap and clean water if it touches you.

Document, then protect

Once it is safe, photograph every room, the waterline on the walls and the outside of the house. Move dry valuables and papers upstairs or to a dry room. Your flood insurer will ask for those photos.

Can Dallas flood? A short record

People ask because the city sits far from any coast. The answer is in its own history.

May 1908. The Trinity River crested at 52.6 feet and spread roughly 1.5 to 2 miles wide near downtown. Five people died, about 4,000 were left homeless, and Dallas was cut off from Oak Cliff and Fort Worth. City archives describe it as the worst of Dallas's early floods.
Late 1920s to early 1930s. Following the Kessler plan, the river was straightened and moved between earthen levees, built from 1928 into the early 1930s and later strengthened by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Dallas Floodway system today includes about 23 miles of levees with pump stations and sluice gates.
May 2015. DFW recorded 16.96 inches of rain, its wettest May on record, beating the 13.66 inches of May 1982. Late that month the Trinity climbed above 40 feet in Dallas, far over its 30 foot flood stage.
August 21 to 22, 2022. A flash flood dropped 9.19 inches on DFW Airport in 24 hours, second only to 9.57 inches in September 1932. More than 15 inches fell near White Rock Creek and Scyene Road in southeast Dallas, flooding streets, cars and homes.

The levees keep the river away from downtown and the neighborhoods behind them. The 2022 damage in southeast Dallas came from rain falling faster than streets and creeks could carry it away, which is the kind of flooding no levee stops.

Look up your flood zone before the next storm

Person at a kitchen counter looking at a colored flood map on a laptop

FEMA publishes its official National Flood Insurance Program maps through its Flood Map Service Center, msc.fema.gov. Search your street address and open the flood map for your area.

Zones starting with A (A, AE, AH, AO) are Special Flood Hazard Areas: ground where a flood has a one in 100 chance or more of happening each year (the base flood, or so-called hundred year flood). Federal lending rules put the odds over the life of a 30 year loan at roughly 26 percent.
If you have a mortgage from a federally regulated lender and the building is in one of those zones, flood insurance is required.
Zone X means moderate or minimal mapped risk. It does not mean no risk. Heavy rain can flood streets and houses that sit outside a mapped floodplain.

A map is a starting point. Street flooding from a downpour does not always follow it.

Flood insurance is its own policy

This is where many DFW homeowners get a hard surprise. FEMA says homeowners and renters policies typically do not cover flood damage, and the Texas Department of Insurance says the same. Damage from rising water is covered, if at all, by a separate flood policy, for example one from the National Flood Insurance Program.

An NFIP policy generally takes effect 30 days after purchase. There are limited exceptions, for example when the policy is required for a mortgage or follows a flood map change. Buying one when the forecast turns bad usually means the coming storm is not covered.

Water that starts inside the house, like a pipe that bursts, is another kind of claim, usually under the home policy. If you are not sure which you have, call your insurer, describe where the water came from, and ask which policy applies. The NFIP help line is 877-336-2627.

What a flood damage restoration company does, step by step

Every company runs its own process, but a careful flood job in a DFW home usually follows this order. Use it to follow along and to ask good questions.

Safety check. Power and gas status, structural concerns, and protective gear for anyone entering. Nobody should be working in live water.
Water and mud out. Pumps for deep water, extractors for the rest, then shovels and squeegees for silt. Mud left in a wall cavity keeps feeding bacteria and mold.
Flood cuts. Drywall that floodwater soaked is cut away in a straight line above the waterline, at a height the company sets from its moisture readings, along with the wet insulation behind it. That opens the wall so the studs and bottom plate can be cleaned and dried.
Removal of porous materials. Carpet, pad, upholstered furniture, mattresses, particleboard cabinets and other absorbent things that Category 3 water touched are usually thrown out, because they cannot be reliably cleaned.
Cleaning and sanitizing. Hard surfaces, framing and slab are cleaned and treated with an antimicrobial product. Ask which product and why.
Structural drying. Air movers and dehumidifiers run, with moisture readings taken every visit, until framing and slab are back to normal levels. Drying a closed-up wall full of floodwater rarely works, which is why the cuts come first.
Rebuild. New insulation, drywall, trim, flooring and cabinets. That stage is covered on the water damage repair page.

Room with the drywall cut away in a straight line about two feet up, showing the studs

Questions for a flood damage restoration company

You are treating this as Category 3 water, right? What does that change about your plan?
How high will you cut the walls, and why that height?
What will you throw out, and will you photograph it and list it for my flood adjuster?
Which antimicrobial will you use on the framing and slab?
Will I get a written estimate, and will it separate cleanup and drying from the rebuild?
Is your firm on the IICRC Global Locator, and do your technicians hold Water Damage Restoration Technician or Applied Structural Drying certification?
If mold shows up, will you bring in a licensed mold assessor under Texas rules rather than assess it yourselves?

Write the answers down. The line does not check or vouch for any company, and the company checklist shows how to verify each claim yourself.

After a flood: watch for mold and the problems that follow

Floodwater leaves houses damp for weeks if the walls are not opened and dried. Mold can follow. Texas rules bring in licensed mold professionals for most growth that covers 25 contiguous square feet or more. Sewage that backed up through drains during the storm needs its own careful cleanup.

Sewage Cleanup

A toilet, tub or floor drain pushing up dirty water is a Category 3 mess. Who owns the pipe, who to call first and what a careful cleanup looks like.

Water Damage Repair

Putting a house back together after the drying is done: drywall, floors, cabinets and paint, who does each part, permits in Dallas and the paperwork your insurer will want.

Mold Remediation

How a licensed Texas mold remediation runs from the assessor's protocol to clearance and the certificate, and how to judge a Dallas mold remediation company before you sign.

Texas mold rules in short. Mold work in Texas is licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). A small patch, under 25 contiguous square feet, usually falls outside the licensing rules. Bigger jobs generally bring in two separate license holders: a mold assessment consultant who writes the cleanup plan, called a protocol, and a mold remediation contractor who carries it out. Texas does not allow one license holder to play both roles on a single project. People who own a home or other residential property with fewer than 10 units are exempt when working on their own property. You can check any name on the TDLR license search; the Texas mold rules guide explains more.

From any DFW town, one number

Flood calls come from across the area, from Dallas neighborhoods along White Rock Creek to Garland, Mesquite, Fort Worth and Arlington. The line works the same everywhere: you describe what happened and your town, and the call is passed on.

Call the numberAn automated assistant answers (469) 649-7066 at any hour and asks what you need help with. The same number answers other home service calls too, so start with "water damage" or "mold".
Describe what happenedA burst pipe, standing water, a wet ceiling, a slab leak, a sewage backup or mold, plus your town and whether water is still coming in.
Get transferredWater damage calls go to an independent, locally owned DFW restoration company; mold removal calls go to an independent mold remediation company. Each hears a short summary before it picks up. Mold testing calls are taken as a message for now.
Deal with that company directlyIt inspects, quotes and does the work, and you pay it (or your insurer does, as you arrange). If it cannot answer, it gets your name, number, city and problem so it can call you back.

About this line: Water Damage Pro Dallas is a free phone line, not a restoration or mold company. It answers your call and connects you with an independent local company, which inspects, quotes and does the work, and which you pay directly. Companies may pay a referral fee. Calling the line costs you nothing. See how a call is handled.

More pages that may help

Other DFW towns on the line

Flood questions people in Dallas ask

Can Dallas flood?

Yes, and it has, many times. The Trinity River flood of May 1908 put much of the young city underwater, and the city's archives call it the worst of its early floods. Levees now hold the river in the Dallas Floodway, but street and creek flooding still happens: on August 21 and 22, 2022, DFW Airport measured 9.19 inches of rain in 24 hours and more than 15 inches fell near White Rock Creek in southeast Dallas. Check your own address on the FEMA flood map.

Why does Dallas flood?

Mostly because of how fast rain can fall here. Spring and late summer storms can drop several inches in a few hours, more than street drains and small creeks can carry, so water backs up onto roads, yards and low ground. Homes along creeks and in low spots get it first, as streets near White Rock Creek did in August 2022. The Trinity itself is held back by levees, and the city's drainage system relies on pump stations and sluice gates to move rain out from behind them.

What was the worst flood in Dallas history?

Most accounts point to the Trinity River flood of May 1908. The river crested at 52.6 feet, spread about 1.5 to 2 miles wide near downtown, cut Dallas off from Oak Cliff and Fort Worth, killed five people and left about 4,000 homeless. The Dallas County Historical Commission calls it the greatest natural disaster in Dallas history. For rainfall alone, the record 24 hour total at DFW Airport is 9.57 inches, set in September 1932.

How much does flood restoration cost?

Flood jobs usually cost more than a clean water leak of the same size, because floodwater is Category 3: more material is removed, everything it touched is cleaned and treated, and crews wear protective gear. The total depends on the square footage, how high the water rose, how long it sat and what has to be rebuilt. The line does not set prices. Ask for a written estimate, and see the cost guide for published ranges, which real quotes may not match.

What are examples of flood damage in a house?

Common ones are a muddy waterline on the walls, wet and swollen drywall and baseboards, soaked insulation inside the walls, ruined carpet and pad, warped wood floors and cabinets, damaged water heaters, furnaces and outlets near the floor, and a sewage smell that lingers. Hidden damage counts too: water under vinyl or tile, wet wall cavities, and mold that appears days later. Photograph all of it for your flood insurer before anything is removed.

Does homeowners insurance cover flood damage in Texas?

Generally no. FEMA and the Texas Department of Insurance both say standard homeowners and renters policies do not cover flooding. To be protected against rising water you need a flood policy of its own; the federal National Flood Insurance Program sells one, and there is normally a 30 day wait before it starts. Ask your agent or insurer what you have now. Read flood versus water damage for the details.

Floodwater in your house? One call for all of DFW

Say what happened and which town you are in. The automated assistant passes a water damage call to an independent, locally owned DFW restoration company, and a mold removal call to an independent mold remediation company. That company comes out, sees the damage and prices the work itself.

Call (469) 649-7066

Answers day or nightPipes burst at 3 a.m. and storms roll in after dark. The assistant picks up at any hour, every day of the year.
Free to callThe line never bills you. Any price comes from the company you are connected with, and you can ask for it in writing.
Mold testing is separateTexas keeps the mold assessor and the remediator on one job apart, so testing calls are taken as a message.
You decideHear what the company found, read its estimate, ask your insurer your questions, and say yes only when it makes sense.