183 flood insurance claims·$3.0M paid·8 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 Augusta 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 and standard flooding from slow-moving summer thunderstorms dominate the flood risk in Augusta County, where the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 92 flood events and 57 flash flood events resulting in two deaths over the last 30 years. Recent events illustrate this pattern, such as on June 15, 2025, when slow-moving showers and thunderstorms associated with an upper-level shortwave trough and quasi-stationary boundary dropped two to four inches of rain and caused localized flooding. Similar conditions occurred on July 2, 2025, when low pressure moving along a slow cold front brought multiple rounds of heavy rain totaling two to five inches, producing both flood and flash flood events.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that claims extend beyond high-risk areas, with 128 claims in Zone A averaging a 10-inch recorded water depth and a $20,950 payout. Additionally, 34 claims occurred in Zone X with an average recorded water depth of 5 inches and a $19,712 payout, while minor claims occurred in unknown zones and shaded or unshaded Zone X designations. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risk, though property owners in Zone X must also note that historical claims and recorded water depths have occurred in their designation.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Augusta County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
132 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 8 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 79 claims and $1.8M paid, the year of Flooding, High Winds, and Wind Driven Rain and 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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Augusta County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 8 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 Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
149 since 1996: 57 flash floods and 92 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 7, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 2, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 2, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Sep 30, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Sep 28, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2025. Slow moving showers and thunderstorms caused localized flooding across portions of Virginia during the afternoon and evening of June 15, 2025. These showers and thunderstorms were in association with a vigorous upper level shortwave trough and quasi-stationary boundary meandering over the area. A general two to four inches of rain fell across areas where flooding occurred.
Flash Flood · Jul 15, 2025. An anomalously moist airmass with tropical moisture resided over much of Virginia on July 15th. Another round of slow moving thunderstorms developed on remnant boundaries and terrain circulations before propagating eastward. These thunderstorms moved into areas with suppressed flash flood guidance due to anteceding conditions. Ultimately, these storms produced localized rainfall amounts of two to five inches.
Flood · Jun 7, 2025. A slow moving thunderstorm stalled over portions of Augusta County resulting in a localized one to three inches of rain. This produced some minor flooding.
Flood · Jul 2, 2025. An area of low pressure moved along a slow moving cold front bringing numerous showers and thunderstorms to Virginia. Multiple rounds of heavy rain occurred throughout the afternoon and evening and into the overnight across portions of central Virginia. Total rainfall amounts of two to five inches were observed where flooding occurred.
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 Augusta 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.