1,114 flood insurance claims·$12.0M paid·7 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Accomack County, Virginia. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Accomack County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by flash flooding and coastal flooding. Over the past 30 years, NOAA recorded 23 flash flood events and 19 coastal flood events, alongside 7 tropical storms, 4 hurricanes resulting in 2 deaths, and 4 general flood events resulting in 1 death.
Recent events illustrate these varied hazards. On October 12, 2025, a coastal low combined with high pressure to generate strong northeast winds, causing widespread moderate to major coastal flooding across the Virginia Eastern Shore. Earlier that year, on August 19, 2025, slow-moving showers driven by moist easterly flow and a weak surface low produced areas of flash flooding during morning hours.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrates that risk is heavily concentrated in specific zones. Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims with 988 filings, averaging $14,104 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone V properties experienced 63 claims with an average payout of $24,877 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Properties located in Zone A and Zone V should pay the closest attention to flood risk, alongside limited claims in Zone X (19 claims, average 9 inches recorded water depth), Zone X_SHADED (13 claims, average 3 inches recorded water depth), and unknown zones (22 claims, average 2 inches recorded water depth).
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Accomack County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,073 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 6 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2012, with 271 claims and $5.3M paid, the year of Hurricane Sandy.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
23 NOAA storm reports from Accomack County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Tropical Depression Ernesto, Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 29, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Jan 25, 2000 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
57 since 1996: 23 flash floods, 4 river or area floods and 19 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Oct 29, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Aug 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 12, 2025 | $60,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 22, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Oct 29, 2025. Low pressure off the Mid-Atlantic coast combined with high pressure in Canada, resulting in a lengthy period of northeasterly onshore flow. Increasing tidal anomalies resulted in moderate to locally major tidal flooding over an extended period.
Coastal Flood · Aug 21, 2025. Hurricane Erin passed well offshore and combined with high pressure to the north, resulting in a period of strong onshore winds and coastal flooding across eastern Virginia and the Virginia Eastern Shore.
Flash Flood · Aug 19, 2025. A weak trough aloft and weak surface low were located in the vicinity of southeast Virginia on August 19. Moist, easterly flow led to widespread showers with localized higher rainfall rates; the slow-moving showers on the Virginia Eastern Shore produced areas of flash flooding in the morning hours.
Coastal Flood · Oct 12, 2025. A coastal low formed off of the Southeast coast on October 11 and slowly tracked north into October 13 before moving offshore. Meanwhile, a strong 1035mb area of high pressure lingered over the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. This resulted in a prolonged period of strong northeast to north winds across the Chesapeake Bay and coastal waters, which allowed for widespread moderate to major coastal flooding across eastern Vir…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Accomack County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.