1,378 flood insurance claims·$28.1M paid·5 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 Gloucester 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 low-pressure systems, tropical storms, and nor'easters dominates the flood history of Gloucester County, supported by NOAA records showing 10 coastal flood events, 6 tropical storms, 5 general floods, 5 flash floods, 2 hurricanes, and 1 storm surge event over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include a prolonged coastal flood event on October 12, 2025, driven by strong northeast winds from a coastal low interacting with high pressure, as well as a flash flood on July 20, 2024, caused by heavy rain and a moist air mass near a stationary front.
National Flood Insurance Program records reflect claims across multiple zones. Zone A recorded 1,137 claims with an average payout of $24,300 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Zone V recorded 107 claims with an average payout of $36,709 and an average water depth of 12 inches. Zone X accounted for 68 claims with an average payout of $21,685 and an average water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X_SHADED recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $128,595 and an average water depth of 2 inches. An additional 62 claims came from unknown zones with an average payout of $7,739 and an average water depth of 2 inches.
Coastal property owners and residents in FEMA Zones A and V should pay the most attention to flood risk, given the high volume and severity of claims associated with coastal and surge hazards.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Gloucester County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,248 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 7 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 758 claims and $22.8M 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.
10 NOAA storm reports from Gloucester County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Tropical Depression Ernesto, Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 29, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
| Hurricane Floyd Emergency Declarations | Sep 13, 1999 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
29 since 1996: 5 flash floods, 5 river or area floods and 11 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Oct 12, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Nov 15, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2022 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Jul 8, 2021 | $15,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 4, 2020 | $150,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 5, 2019 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Oct 12, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Oct 12, 2025. A coastal low formed off of the Southeast coast on October 11 and slowly tracked north into October 13 before moving offshore. Meanwhile, a strong 1035mb area of high pressure lingered over the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. This resulted in a prolonged period of strong northeast to north winds across the Chesapeake Bay and coastal waters, which allowed for widespread moderate to major coastal flooding across eastern Vir…
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2024. A stationary front remained draped across the southern Virginia border through the day on July 20, 2024. Meanwhile, a weak surface low developed along the front during the afternoon before moving offshore by the early evening. A very moist air mass was in place with dew points generally in the mid to upper 70s. The result was widespread heavy rain and flooding across portions of central and eastern Virginia as wel…
Coastal Flood · Nov 15, 2024. An area of low pressure moved across the Outer Banks and out to sea on the night of November 14 into November 15. Winds became northeast ahead of the low and northwest behind the low as it moved offshore on November 15. The result was a surge of water from the Chesapeake Bay with moderate coastal flooding reported across several areas.
Flash Flood · Jul 9, 2022. Scattered showers and thunderstorms associated with low pressure moving along a frontal boundary produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of the Virginia Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula.
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 Gloucester 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.