12 flood insurance claims·$34,708 paid·6 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 Brunswick 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk in Brunswick County, Virginia. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 28 flash flood events, alongside 3 general floods and 2 tropical storms that resulted in 1 death.
A notable series of events occurred on June 15, 2025, when a stationary front moved southwest through the region, producing widespread afternoon and evening storms that dropped locally heavy rain and caused flash flooding across central and southeast Virginia.
FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records show claims filed across multiple zones. Properties in Zone A experienced the highest financial impact, with 2 payments averaging $10,229. Meanwhile, Zone X recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $3,480 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $331 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners in higher-risk designated areas like Zone A, as well as residents in Zone X who have experienced shallow flooding averaging 1 inch of water, should pay the closest attention to local flood risks and insurance coverage.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 1 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 2 claims and $12,044 paid, the year of Hurricane Isabel.
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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Brunswick County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Michael | Oct 9, 2018 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
33 since 1996: 28 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 2, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 28, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 19, 2025. A stationary front was anchored north of the area in Pennsylvania. Deep moisture was in place to the south of the front with precipitable water values near two inches. Strong surface heating resulted in robust instability with wind shear around 25 knots, allowing for deep, slow moving, convection capable of heavy rainfall and flash flooding during the afternoon and evening hours.
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2025. A stationary front was located across central Virginia to northeast North Carolina on June 15. This front slowly moved southwest through the afternoon. Widespread storms developed during the afternoon and continued into the evening on June 15. These storms produced locally heavy rain and flash flooding across portions of central and southeast Virginia. Additionally, an isolated storm produced flash flooding across…
Flash Flood · Jul 15, 2025. A moist and unstable air mass was in place from July 14 through July 15. This allowed for widespread, slow-moving storms to move across portions of central, southern, and southeastern Virginia. These storms produced heavy rain and widespread flash flooding in two rounds. One round was from overnight convection on the night of July 14 into the morning of July 15 and the other round was during the afternoon of July…
Flash Flood · Aug 6, 2025. An upper-level trough and jet streak approached the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic region on August 6. Despite the cool airmass in place, overrunning precipitation produced occasional moderate to heavy rainfall rates and flash flooding across portions of interior southern Virginia.
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 Brunswick 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.