34 flood insurance claims·$253,384 paid·4 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 Lexington 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.
Flash flooding driven by heavy rainfall and tropical moisture dominates the flood history of Lexington city, Virginia. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 10 flood events, 7 flash flood events, and 1 tropical storm. Documented flash floods include an event on September 22, 2021, when remnants of Tropical Storm Nicholas produced rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour, and an event on January 25, 2010, when 2 to 5 inches of rain fell onto saturated ground from recent snow melt.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood risk extends beyond designated high-risk areas. Properties located in Zone A recorded 21 claims with an average payout of $12,611 and an average recorded water depth of 19 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X_UNSHADED experienced 10 claims with an average payout of $7,432 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN recorded 3 claims averaging $615 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated in Zone A due to the higher average payouts and significant water depths, while also recognizing that properties in unshaded zones face measurable flood and flash flood risks from intense rainfall events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
32% of Lexington 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 14 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 1995, with 12 claims and $80,849 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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Lexington city describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 4 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 Fran And Associated Severe Storm Cond | Sep 5, 1996 |
| Blizzard Of 96 (severe Snow Storm) | Jan 6, 1996 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 22, 1995 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
18 since 1996: 7 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 22, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 25, 2010 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 25, 2010 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Dec 1, 2010 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2006 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2006 | $3,000 |
| Flood | Nov 29, 2005 | — |
| Flood | Sep 8, 2004 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 22, 2021. Deep tropical moisture associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicholas was lifted northward ahead of a strong cold front. Precipitable water values ranging from 1.9 to 2.2 inches were carried into southern Virginia during the evening of the 21st. Warm rain processes produced localized rainfall rates of 2- to 3-inches per hour during the late evening of the 21st into early on the 22nd, enhanced by orograph…
Flash Flood · Jan 25, 2010. Abundant rain advanced north into the region in advance of an area of low pressure to the west while a frontal boundary remained draped over the region. An average of 2 to 5 inches of rain fell from this system onto an already saturated ground from recent snow melt and rainfall. The heavy rain contributed to widespread flash flooding, mudslides, areal flooding, and river flooding.
Flash Flood · Dec 1, 2010. A major storm affected the eastern U.S. during the period of November 30 - December 1 as a powerful upper low and surface system moved into the Great Lakes proving an extended period of deep southerly flow across the region. Precipitable water values were extremely high for very early December, running from 1.3 to 1.6 inches or nearly 200 percent of normal. Precipitation developed late on the 29th and produced mo…
Flash Flood · Aug 30, 2006. Thunderstorms brought torrential rains to portions of Western Virginia the evening of the 30th. Flash flooding of Snow Creek resulted in two roads being water covered. In Henry County, Blackberry Creek flooded Blackberry Road, one mile south of Bassett. A mudslide occurred in the Tiger Hills section of the city of Lexington. Buffalo Creek flooded in the Collierstown area.
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 Lexington 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.