50 flood insurance claims·$950,446 paid·2 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 Bland 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 driven by heavy rainfall events dominates the flood risk in Bland County. Over a 30-year period, NOAA records show 16 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 7 general flood events. Recent activity includes a flash flood on February 15, 2025, driven by Gulf moisture pooling along a warm front, and an earlier flash flood on May 29, 2023, caused by sub-tropical moisture moving into the region. Repeated rounds of heavy rainfall from slow-moving low pressure systems and upper-level troughs have also produced significant general flooding, such as events in February 2020 and April 2017.
FEMA insurance claims data further define the local risk distribution. Properties located in high-risk Zone A have accounted for 46 claims, with an average payout of $21,892 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X has recorded 4 claims with a higher average payout of $46,059 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within Zone A, where the highest volume of flood insurance claims and average water depths have been recorded.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Bland County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
46 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 5 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 2003, with 13 claims and $222,778 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Bland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1976, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Feb 10, 2025 |
| Post-tropical Cyclone Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
23 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | $20,000 · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2023 | $25,000 |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Apr 23, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2016 | $75,000 |
| Flood | Apr 20, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Apr 19, 2015 | — |
| Flood | May 19, 2013 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A deep upper level trough was observed exiting the southern Rockies during the morning of February 15th, with southwesterly windflow ahead of the trough allowing for a fetch of deep moisture from the western Gulf of America. This moisture pooled along a warm front situated across from Kentucky into southwest Virginia, where precipitable water values increased from 0.6 to 0.7 inches at 7 am that morning, to around…
Flash Flood · May 29, 2023. A deep, closed upper level low pressure system was observed over central Alabama on the morning of May 28th. The east winds around this low, allowed deep sub-tropical moisture from the Atlantic to move into lower Mid-Atlantic region. Areas of rain developed across the mountains by late morning, and gradually increased in coverage due to the sustained 25 to 30 knot (850mb) moisture inflow. Precipitable water values…
Flood · Feb 6, 2020. A deep upper-level trough moved slowly across the central and eastern U.S. drawing abundant moisture northward. At the same time, a complex frontal boundary with several waves of low pressure brought repeated rounds of heavy rainfall to the region. Rainfall totals for the 72-hour period ending at 700 AM on February 7th ranged from 2 to 6 inches with isolated higher amounts mainly along the Blue Ridge Mountains, bu…
Flood · Apr 23, 2017. Several waves of low pressure moved across the area as an upper level low closed off over the southeastern U.S. Signiifcant rainfall began early on April 22nd over far southwest Virginia and the rainfall persisted on and off over the next four days with mainly moderate rates (0.10��� to 0.25��� per hour) as the upper low drifted very slowly eastward from the lower Mississippi Valley toward the southeas…
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 Bland 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.