55 flood insurance claims·$761,720 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 Harrisonburg 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.
Over the last 30 years, standard floods and flash floods from slow-moving weather systems have dominated the flood character of Harrisonburg city, with NOAA recording 17 flood events and 12 flash flood events. Heavy rainfall on saturated soils frequently triggers these incidents, as occurred in May 2018 when scattered thunderstorms dropped moderate to heavy rain on already saturated ground, producing repeated flooding near Harrisonburg as a cold front pushed through the region. Similar moisture-laden boundaries and thunderstorms caused additional flooding and flash flooding in August 2021.
FEMA claims data indicates that property owners outside of high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas must also pay close attention to potential flood hazards. While Zone A recorded 26 claims with an average water depth of 2 inches and an average payout of $9,765, Zone X recorded 17 claims with an average water depth of 26 inches and an average payout of $32,519. Additionally, Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $35,762 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN accounted for 7 claims averaging 1 inch of water depth and $3,464 in payouts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
16% of Harrisonburg city’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
31 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 1996, with 15 claims and $77,251 paid, the year of Flooding, High Winds, and Wind Driven Rain and Hurricane Fran and Associated Severe Storm Cond.
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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Harrisonburg city describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
14 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 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
| Hurricane Fran And Associated Severe Storm Cond | Sep 5, 1996 |
| Flooding, High Winds, And Wind Driven Rain | Jan 19, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
29 since 1996: 12 flash floods and 17 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Aug 16, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2018 | — |
| Flood | May 28, 2018 | — |
| Flood | May 27, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Jun 2, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Jul 28, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Aug 16, 2021. A boundary remain draped overhead while a deep southerly flow ushered in plenty of moisture. Showers and thunderstorms resulted in heavy rainfall that led to instances of flooding and flash flooding.
Flash 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 28, 2018. Scattered thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front over Maryland during the afternoon hours of May 27th. Moderate to heavy rain on saturated soil produced flooding in portions of northern Virginia. The soils were so saturated that just moderate rain caused more flooding near Harrisonburg during the afternoon of the 28th as the cold front pushed through the region.
Flood · May 27, 2018. Scattered thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front over Maryland during the afternoon hours of May 27th. Moderate to heavy rain on saturated soil produced flooding in portions of northern Virginia. The soils were so saturated that just moderate rain caused more flooding near Harrisonburg during the afternoon of the 28th as the cold front pushed through the region.
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 Harrisonburg 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.