168 flood insurance claims·$2.0M 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 Loudoun 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.
Flooding in Loudoun County is dominated by standard flood events and flash flooding, with the NOAA Storm Events Database recording 109 flood events and 72 flash flood events over the last 30 years. These events are driven by low pressure systems and slow-moving thunderstorms, such as the event on June 14, 2025, which dropped one to five inches of rain from trained and stalled storms, and the December 18, 2023, event, which brought 1.5 to four inches of widespread rainfall that caused creeks, streams, and rivers to reach minor to moderate flood stage and closed numerous roads.
Federal flood insurance claims data shows that flood risks impact properties across multiple FEMA zones. Zone X leads with 73 claims averaging a $9,534 payout and an average recorded water depth of 45 inches. Zone A accounts for 69 claims with an average payout of $24,692 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 11 claims with an average payout of $23,275 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X_SHADED saw 7 claims with an average payout of $63,361 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 8 claims with an average payout of $7,013 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated in Zone X and Zone A, which have experienced the highest volume of historical claims and significant average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
21% of Loudoun County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
87 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 20 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 32 claims and $821,065 paid, the year of Flooding, High Winds, and Wind Driven Rain.
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.
50 NOAA storm reports from Loudoun County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
16 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 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Record/near Record Snowfall, Heavy Rain,floodind, And Mudslide | Feb 15, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
181 since 1996: 72 flash floods and 109 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 5, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 8, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Sep 8, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Dec 23, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Dec 22, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 7, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 14, 2025. A weak area of low pressure interacted with an anomalously moist airmass and stalled frontal boundary. This spawned showers and thunderstorms that resulted in localized amounts of one to five inches of rain. The higher amounts were where storms trained or stalled.
Flash Flood · May 5, 2025. An area of upper level low pressure brought repetitive rounds of slow moving thunderstorms to parts of Virginia. The heaviest rain fell across Loudoun County, Virginia and King George County, VA where to two to four inches of rain were observed.
Flood · Dec 18, 2023. An area of low pressure moved along the Atlantic seaboard bringing widespread rainfall amounts of 1.5 to 4 inches. This resulted in numerous creeks, streams, and rivers reaching minor to moderate flood stage. Numerous roads were closed in areas as well.
Flash Flood · Sep 8, 2023. A nearly stalled boundary combined with plenty of moisture led to the development of showers and thunderstorms. Some storms trained over the same areas, resulting in areas of flooding and flash flooding in northern Virginia.
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 Loudoun 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.