1,065 flood insurance claims·$23.8M paid·7 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 Newport News 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 from heavy rainfall and slow-moving summer convection dominates the flood history of Newport News city, Virginia, accounting for 40 of the 58 total flood events recorded over the last 30 years by the NOAA Storm Events Database, alongside 7 general floods, 6 coastal floods, and 5 tropical storms.
Recent events illustrate these hazards. On July 31, 2025, strong, slow-moving convection driven by an approaching mid-level disturbance and a moist, unstable airmass produced heavy rainfall and flash flooding during the late afternoon and evening. Later that year, on October 12, 2025, a coastal low interacting with high pressure over the Gulf of Saint Lawrence generated a prolonged period of strong northeast to north winds, causing widespread moderate to major coastal flooding across eastern Virginia.
FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records show significant impacts across multiple zones. Zone A properties experienced the highest claim volume with 694 claims averaging a $29,874 payout and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone X recorded 182 claims with an average payout of $24,067 and an average water depth of 17 inches. Unshaded Zone X properties filed 139 claims with an average payout of $33,873 and an average water depth of 4 inches, while shaded Zone X properties saw 34 claims averaging a $43,631 payout with a 4-inch average water depth. Property owners in designated Zone A and various Zone X designations should pay close attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
20% of Newport News city’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
875 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 7 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 2012, with 186 claims and $5.9M paid, the year of Hurricane Sandy.
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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Newport News city describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Matthew | Oct 7, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Ida And A Nor'east | Nov 11, 2009 |
| Tropical Depression Ernesto, Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 29, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
58 since 1996: 40 flash floods, 7 river or area floods and 6 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 28, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Aug 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Sep 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 14, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 12, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 28, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 31, 2025. A front was located north of the region and gradually moved south in response to an approaching mid level disturbance. To the south of the front, robust heating of a moist low level airmass resulted in increasing instability by the afternoon and evening hours. Strong, slow moving, convection resulted in areas of strong winds, heavy rainfall, and flash flooding during the late afternoon and evening.
Coastal Flood · Oct 28, 2025. Low pressure off the Mid-Atlantic coast combined with high pressure in Canada, resulting in a lengthy period of northeasterly onshore flow. Increasing tidal anomalies resulted in moderate to locally major tidal flooding over an extended period.
Coastal Flood · Aug 21, 2025. Hurricane Erin passed well offshore and combined with high pressure to the north, resulting in a period of strong onshore winds and coastal flooding across eastern Virginia and the Virginia Eastern Shore.
Flash Flood · Aug 18, 2025. Moisture and instability pooled along a nearly stationary frontal boundary across southeast Virginia on August 18. Slow-moving showers and storms trained over the lower Virginia Peninsula region, with flash flooding occurring in the late afternoon and evenings hours.
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 Newport News 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.