53 flood insurance claims·$939,666 paid·3 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 Fairfax city, 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.
Riverine and general floods mixed with tropical systems dominate the historical flood profile of Fairfax city, VA, backed by 17 flood events and 7 tropical storm events over the last 30 years.
Severe weather events have produced notable impacts in the area, such as the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida causing widespread flooding and flash flooding in September 2021, and Tropical Storm Isaias bringing flooding rain and tropical storm force winds in August 2020.
Property owners in both high-risk and moderate-to-low-risk areas should review their flood exposure, as historical claims data shows significant impacts across zones. Properties in Zone A experienced 25 claims with an average payout of $46,757 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 24 claims with an average payout of $12,018 and an average recorded water depth of 34 inches, while Zone V recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $23,667 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Fairfax city’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
29 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 11 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 2011, with 18 claims and $536,371 paid.
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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Fairfax city describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
32 since 1996: 6 flash floods, 17 river or area floods and 2 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 4, 2020 | $15,000 |
| Flood | May 31, 2018 | — |
| Flood | May 16, 2014 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 27, 2011 | $150,000 |
| Coastal Flood | Apr 16, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 8, 2011 | — · 1 killed |
| Flood | Sep 6, 2008 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Sep 1, 2021. The remnants of Ida produced widespread flooding along with instances of flash flooding across the area. Tropical moisture infiltrated the area and there were moderate amounts of instability as well. This combined with the lift provided from the remnants of Ida led to heavy rainfall during this time. Rainfall amounts averaged around 1-3 near and east of Interstate 95, with amounts around 2 to 5 inches across porti…
Tropical Storm · Aug 4, 2020. Tropical Storm Isaias moved up the east coast, passing through southern Maryland on the morning of Tuesday, August 4th, 2020, spawning several tornadoes as well as flooding rain and tropical storm force winds. ||Storm total rainfall ranged from 2 to 4 inches near Interstate 95 to as much as 9 inches in Calvert County east of Interstate 95. The heavy rain led to numerous incidents of flooding and flash flooding, es…
Flood · May 31, 2018. Upslope winds on the east side of the Blue Ridge just north of an approaching warm front aided in producing torrential rainfall and catastrophic flooding in parts of Central Virginia. Rainfall amounts of 4-10 inches occurred north and west of Charlottesville. Later in the evening, heavy rain developed in northern Virginia, with 1-3 inches in the southern and western suburbs of Washington DC, as well as again near…
Flood · May 16, 2014. A deep upper level trough tapped into Gulf and Atlantic moisture which led to heavy rain across the Mid Atlantic. Tropical-like conditions resulted in showers and thunderstorms to persist before a cold front moved through later in the day.
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 Fairfax city 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.