241 flood insurance claims·$5.3M paid·9 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 Essex 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.
Coastal flooding from tidal systems and persistent offshore weather patterns defines the flood character of Essex County, Virginia, supported by 10 coastal flood events alongside 6 standard floods and 6 flash floods recorded over the last 30 years. Recent historical impacts include widespread moderate to major coastal flooding driven by prolonged northeast winds on October 12, 2025, as well as elevated winds and long-period swells from offshore hurricanes on October 1, 2025, that pushed Virginia tidal rivers into moderate flood stages.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage is heavily concentrated in specific zones. Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims with 179 filings, averaging a payout of $29,219 with an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone X properties recorded 37 claims averaging $20,589 with an average water depth of 7 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN recorded 19 claims averaging $7,847 with an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone V recorded 6 claims averaging $16,822 with an average water depth of 4 inches.
Coastal property owners and residents located within Zone A and Zone V should pay the closest attention to flood risks, given the concentration of insurance claims and vulnerability to coastal and tidal events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Essex County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
185 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 4 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 104 claims and $3.8M 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Essex County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 2, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Michael | Oct 9, 2018 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| The Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 8, 2011 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
22 since 1996: 6 flash floods, 6 river or area floods and 10 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Oct 28, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Aug 22, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | May 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 14, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 12, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 18, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Oct 12, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Oct 28, 2025. Low pressure off the Mid-Atlantic coast combined with high pressure in Canada, resulting in a lengthy period of northeasterly onshore flow. Increasing tidal anomalies resulted in moderate to locally major tidal flooding over an extended period.
Coastal Flood · Aug 22, 2025. Hurricane Erin passed well offshore and combined with high pressure to the north, resulting in a period of strong onshore winds and coastal flooding across eastern Virginia and the Virginia Eastern Shore.
Coastal Flood · May 21, 2025. An area of low pressure occluded over the Ohio Valley on May 21 into May 22. This allowed for a period of elevated onshore flow which led to moderate coastal flooding across portions of eastern Virginia along both sides of the Chesapeake Bay on May 21 and 22.
Flash Flood · May 14, 2025. A broad trough was in place across the eastern CONUS, resulting in isolated afternoon and evening storms with locally heavy rainfall.
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 Essex 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.