50 flood insurance claims·$733,164 paid·2 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 Lee 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.
Flash flooding from severe weather events and heavy rainfall dominates Lee County's flood profile, supported by 15 recorded flash flood events compared to 10 general flood events over the last 30 years. Recent historical data highlights this pattern, including a February 2025 event where a strong synoptic system brought heavy rainfall from a warm front followed by severe thunderstorms along a cold front. Similarly, an August 2024 event demonstrated how buoyant environments ahead of a cold front and upper low can spark multiple rounds of scattered thunderstorms, resulting in localized flooding across southwest Virginia.
Flood insurance claims data from the National Flood Insurance Program reflects varied impacts across different zones. Zone A carries the highest claim volume with 28 claims, averaging $30,823 in payouts and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 11 claims with an average payout of $2,076 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X recorded 10 claims with an average payout of $8,660 and an average recorded water depth of 24 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $0 and an average water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners and real estate professionals handling properties in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to flood risk, given the elevated claim counts, higher payout averages, and recorded water depths associated with these areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Lee County’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 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 2002, with 22 claims and $630,762 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Lee County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1976, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Feb 10, 2025 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 24, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
25 since 1996: 15 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 28, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Mar 28, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Feb 10, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A strong synoptic system with heavy rainfall during warm front passage followed by additional rainfall during the severe thunderstorms along the cold front led to reports of flooding in northern portions of East Tennessee. Additionally, strong winds powered by strong winds aloft mixed to the surface, bringing wind advisory conditions to the whole area, a few high wind reports, and some wind damage.
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A strong synoptic system with heavy rainfall during warm front passage followed by additional rainfall during the severe thunderstorms along the cold front led to reports of flooding in northern portions of East Tennessee. Additionally, strong winds powered by strong winds aloft mixed to the surface, bringing wind advisory conditions to the whole area, a few high wind reports, and some wind damage.
Flash Flood · May 18, 2024. A weak surface trough over the area helped trigger convection over southwestern Virginia.
Flash Flood · Aug 2, 2024. A buoyant environment, ahead of a cold front and an upper low, sparks several rounds of scattered thunderstorms in southwest Virginia. A few instances of damaging winds and localized flooding occurred.
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 Lee 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.