151 flood insurance claims·$4.1M 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 Lynchburg 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.
Standard flooding and flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominate the flood risk profile in Lynchburg city, supported by 25 flood events, 21 flash flood events, and 3 tropical storm events recorded over the last 30 years. Recent historical impacts include a flash flood driven by the remnants of Hurricane Debbie in August 2024, and widespread flooding caused by a stationary front and thunderstorms on September 25, 2024. Additional significant events occurred due to a deep low pressure system in April 2023 and a low pressure trough tapping into deep moisture in July 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that high-risk Zone A properties experienced the highest claim volume with 100 claims averaging $46,082 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Meanwhile, shaded Zone X properties recorded the highest average payout at $67,081 across 7 claims with an average water depth of 7 inches, and unshaded Zone X properties logged 25 claims averaging $18,181 with an average water depth of 19 inches. Standard Zone X properties saw 12 claims averaging $13,464 with an average water depth of 28 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A should pay the most attention to flood risk, followed by property owners in shaded and unshaded Zone X areas where significant average payouts and substantial water depths have been documented.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
24% of Lynchburg city’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
135 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 1996, with 35 claims and $1.3M paid, the year of 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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Lynchburg city describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
17 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 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Jan 25, 2000 |
| Hurricane Fran And Associated Severe Storm Cond | Sep 5, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
49 since 1996: 21 flash floods and 25 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Sep 25, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Apr 28, 2023 | $1,500 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2021 | $25,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 29, 2020 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Sep 25, 2024. A nearly stationary front that extended south from West Virginia into Western Virginia and North Carolina Piedmont served as the focus for thunderstorm development during the afternoon of September 25. Some clearing allowed for an increase in instability, but not quite enough to support widespread severe thunderstorms. Favorable upper level divergence was also present over the area as an upper low closed off over…
Flash Flood · Aug 8, 2024. The remnants of Hurricane Debbie moved north toward the area on August 8th, 2024. A strong southeast flow of wind on the system's northern extent, along with wet soils due to heavy rainfall, helped to cause downed trees and power lines over portions of Virginia. Winds gusted to at least 40 to 45 mph over parts of the region. The strong winds continued into the morning hours of August 9th, 2024. The highest totals…
Flood · Apr 28, 2023. Widespread rainfall associated with a deep low pressure system and associated cold front occurred across the Piedmont region from late in the evening on the 27th through late morning on the 28th. A Strong southerly flow of wind allowed precipitable water values during the early morning hours of the 28th to increase to around 1.3 inches across portions of the Piedmont, which is between the 75th and the 99th percen…
Flash Flood · Jul 15, 2023. A trough of low pressure was situated from Buckingham County, VA southeast through Alleghany County, NC during the evening of the 15th, while a cold front was advancing eastward across the mountains. A wave of low pressure passing along the front over western North Carolina served to increase low level winds into the 20 kt-25 kt range from the south, tapping into deep moisture. By 8 pm EDT, precipitable water v…
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 Lynchburg 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.