118 flood insurance claims·$513,599 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 Dickenson 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 general river flooding dominate Dickenson County, supported by 35 flash flood events and 28 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years by the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Recent weather events illustrate these local impacts. On January 31, 2025, a low-pressure system dropped over an inch and a half of rainfall across Dickenson and Buchanan Counties, causing minor flooding and making local roads impassable until waters receded. Later, a system on February 15, 2025, brought three to five inches of rain and transitioning snow showers to the region over a multi-day period.
Federal flood insurance claim records show impacts across varying risk categories. Properties in FEMA Zone UNKNOWN account for 52 claims with an average payout of $4,458 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone A properties represent 43 claims with an average payout of $5,774 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone X properties account for 23 claims with a higher average payout of $10,428 and an average recorded water depth of 20 inches. Residents with properties in Zone X, Zone A, and unmapped or unknown zones should pay close attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Dickenson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
43 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 1984, with 56 claims and $220,301 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.
38 NOAA storm reports from Dickenson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 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 Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 23, 2006 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
63 since 1996: 35 flash floods and 28 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | $500 |
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | $250 |
| Flood | Jul 18, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | — |
— = 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 · Jul 18, 2025. Beginning on July 18th, a cold front approached from the west and then stalled over southeast Ohio and West Virginia. The boundary eventually slid north as a warm front on the 19th of July while a low passed across the Great Lakes region and took aim for New England. Another cold front that trailed behind this secondary system approached from the north and then sank down through the middle Ohio Valley and Central…
Flash Flood · Jul 18, 2025. Beginning on July 18th, a cold front approached from the west and then stalled over southeast Ohio and West Virginia. The boundary eventually slid north as a warm front on the 19th of July while a low passed across the Great Lakes region and took aim for New England. Another cold front that trailed behind this secondary system approached from the north and then sank down through the middle Ohio Valley and Central…
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…
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 Dickenson 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.