360 flood insurance claims·$4.6M 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 Buchanan 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 dominates the flood character of Buchanan County, accounting for 44 events and 4 deaths over the last 30 years, alongside 21 general flood events resulting in 3 deaths. Recent activity includes a low-pressure system in January 2025 that brought over an inch and a half of rainfall, causing local roads to become impassable until waters receded. Additionally, a system on February 15, 2025, dropped three to five inches of rain as moderate to heavy precipitation moved across the area ahead of a cold front.
Residents and property owners should pay close attention based on historical claim distribution across flood zones. Properties categorized under Zone UNKNOWN recorded 177 claims with an average payout of $5,435 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone A properties logged 126 claims with an average payout of $28,087 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone X properties recorded 50 claims with an average payout of $28,922 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches, while Zone X_SHADED saw 6 claims averaging a $5,227 payout with an average water depth of 3 inches, and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 1 claim with a $3,792 average payout and an average water depth of 2 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Buchanan County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
133 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 1984, with 136 claims and $923,443 paid, the year of Severe Storms & 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.
40 NOAA storm reports from Buchanan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 6 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 |
| Flooding And Mudslides | Jul 13, 2022 |
| Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Aug 30, 2021 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
65 since 1996: 44 flash floods and 21 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | $250 |
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | $5.0M |
| Flash Flood | Feb 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 24, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | $500 |
| Flood | Feb 17, 2023 | $250 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 31, 2025. The month of January rounded out with minor flooding issues in southwest Virginia as a low pressure system pressed through the area on the 31st. This disturbance brought ample moisture to the region, which helped produce over an inch and a half of rainfall to Dickenson and Buchanan Counties as a result. Local roads in the counties took the brunt of the impacts from the rain, leading to impassable travel impacts fo…
Flood · Feb 15, 2025. Light precipitation entered into southeast Virginia on the evening of February 14th, with more substantial rain spreading across the area overnight into the 15th as a warm front approached from the south. Moderate to heavy rain continued to push overhead for the next 24 hours as low pressure tracked across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. Rain turned to snow as cold air moved in behind a cold front, then light snow…
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. Light precipitation entered into southeast Virginia on the evening of February 14th, with more substantial rain spreading across the area overnight into the 15th as a warm front approached from the south. Moderate to heavy rain continued to push overhead for the next 24 hours as low pressure tracked across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. Rain turned to snow as cold air moved in behind a cold front, then light snow…
Flash Flood · Feb 6, 2025. Rain associated with an approaching low pressure system swept through southwest Virginia on the evening of February 6th, resulting in one to two inches of accumulations in the area. This resulted in high water issues around the Hurley area, with local creeks spilling onto the road and making them impassable for a brief period of time. High pressure ventured into the area in the wake of a cold front, bringing an en…
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 Buchanan 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.