53 flood insurance claims·$756,454 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 Amherst 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.
Flash flooding from intense storms dominates the historical flood profile of Amherst County, which recorded 26 flash flood events alongside 19 general floods and two tropical storm events over the last 30 years.
Recent weather patterns illustrate these localized hazards. In April 2020, a strong cold front driven by tropical moisture dropped 1.5 to 4 inches of rain across the mountains and foothills during a 12-hour period, resulting in flash flooding. Later, a significant multi-day flood event occurred on November 11 through 12, 2020, driven by a slow-moving cold front and deep tropical moisture that created widespread flooding across the footprint. Additionally, the remnants of Hurricane Debbie brought heavy rainfall, wet soils, and wind gusts of 40 to 45 mph on August 8, 2024.
Homeowners and real estate agents should pay particular attention to properties located within FEMA Flood Zone A, which accounts for the vast majority of local National Flood Insurance Program claims (38 claims with an average payout of $12,993 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches). However, properties outside designated high-risk zones also carry financial exposure; Zone X_UNSHADED properties recorded an average payout of $41,007 across 7 claims, and Zone X properties averaged $41,343 per claim.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
24% of Amherst County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
50 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 1996, with 12 claims and $217,796 paid, the year of Hurricane Fran and Associated Severe Storm Cond.
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.
19 NOAA storm reports from Amherst County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 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 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
| 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.
47 since 1996: 26 flash floods and 19 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 13, 2020 | $95,380 |
| Flood | Nov 11, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Dec 28, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Feb 11, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 15, 2014 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 9, 2024. A deep, negatively tilted upper level trough and associated occluded front passed from the central Mississippi River Valley on January 9th toward the lower New England region by the morning of the 10th. Strong southerly wind flow ahead of the upper trough carried deep moisture from the Gulf of Mexico northward into the Carolinas and the lower Mid-Atlantic. Precipitable water values ranged from 1.1 inches across…
Flash Flood · Aug 8, 2024. The remnants of Hurricane Debbie moved north toward the area on August 8th, 2024. A strong southeast flow of wind on the system's northern extent, along with wet soils due to heavy rainfall, helped to cause downed trees and power lines over portions of Virginia. Winds gusted to at least 40 to 45 mph over parts of the region. The strong winds continued into the morning hours of August 9th, 2024. The highest totals…
Flash Flood · Apr 13, 2020. A strong cold front extending from a complex surface low pressure system, brought intense thunderstorms which produced damaging winds and very heavy rain on April 12-13. The heavy rains resulted from a deep plume of tropical moisture lifted northward ahead of the cold front. Heavy rain began during the evening of April 12th and exited the region shortly after sunrise on the 13th, lasting roughly a 12-hour period.…
Flood · Nov 11, 2020. One of the most significant flooding events in years occurred during November 11th and 12th, given both the amounts of rainfall and the footprint where flooding occurred. In the wake of high pressure passing east off the mid-Atlantic coast, a plume of deep tropical moisture was rapidly carried inland to the central Appalachians ahead of a slow-moving cold front. Though this plume was of tropical origin, it was n…
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 Amherst 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.