1,488 flood insurance claims·$16.4M 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 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.
Fairfax County, VA experiences flood risk driven primarily by riverine floods and flash flooding from summer thunderstorms. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 291 flood events, 238 flash flood events resulting in 2 deaths, 7 tropical storms resulting in 1 death, 2 storm surge or tide events, and 1 coastal flood. Slow-moving showers and thunderstorms, fueled by upper-level shortwave troughs and stationary boundaries, dropped two to four inches of rain to cause localized flooding during events such as those in June 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood risks extend across multiple zones. Zone X recorded 940 claims with an average payout of $9,829 and an average recorded water depth of 20 inches. Zone A recorded 470 claims with an average payout of $31,275 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Unshaded Zone X recorded 41 claims with an average payout of $7,150 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 13 claims averaging $5,360 with an average depth of 6 inches, while Zone D recorded 11 claims averaging $3,758 with an average depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone X and Zone A, which account for the vast majority of historical insurance claims and higher average water depths and payouts in the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Fairfax County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
524 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 16 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 333 claims and $3.2M paid, the year of The Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee.
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.
121 NOAA storm reports from Fairfax County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
19 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 |
| The Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 8, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| 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.
539 since 1996: 238 flash floods, 291 river or area floods and 3 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 31, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 31, 2025. A slow moving cold front combined with a highly unstable atmosphere along with tropical moisture to produce slow moving thunderstorms with heavy rainfall. Some of these storms trained over the same areas, resulting in scattered to numerous instances of flash flooding. Total rainfall amounts in areas with flash flooding averaged two to four inches.
Flash Flood · Jul 19, 2025. An unstable atmosphere along with plenty of moisture led to the development of showers and thunderstorms. The thunderstorms were slow moving, and trained over the same areas in spots resulting in flash flooding. Localized rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches were observed, with upwards of 5 inches in the most persistent thunderstorms.
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2025. Slow moving showers and thunderstorms caused localized flooding across portions of Virginia during the afternoon and evening of June 15, 2025. These showers and thunderstorms were in association with a vigorous upper level shortwave trough and quasi-stationary boundary meandering over the area. A general two to four inches of rain fell across areas where flooding occurred.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2025. Another day of an anomalously moist airmass produced numerous showers and thunderstorms across Virginia. This resulted in localized rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches in a short period of time, which resulted in instances of flooding and flash flooding.
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 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.