98 flood insurance claims·$1.1M 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 Northampton 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.
Coastal flooding from low-pressure systems, high tides, and tropical activity dominates the flood profile of Northampton County, supported by 46 recorded coastal flood events alongside flash floods, tropical storms, and hurricanes over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include a slow-moving coastal low on October 12, 2025, that generated prolonged northeast winds and widespread moderate to major coastal flooding, as well as heavy rainfall from an approaching low-pressure system on September 16, 2025, which combined with higher-than-normal high tides to produce widespread freshwater and flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate historical claims across multiple zones, including 58 claims in Zone A with an average payout of $11,563 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches; 17 claims in Zone V with an average payout of $20,010 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches; and 10 claims in Zone X with an average payout of $26,769 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Additionally, shaded Zone X recorded 5 claims averaging $12,199 with an average water depth of 3 inches, while unknown zones recorded 4 claims averaging $3,416 with an average water depth of 14 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties in coastal Zone V and high-risk Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risks, while properties in Zone X and shaded Zone X also require careful evaluation given recorded historical claims and water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Northampton County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
84 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 3 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 2003, with 24 claims and $422,998 paid, the year of Hurricane Isabel.
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.
30 NOAA storm reports from Northampton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Tropical Storm Michael | Oct 9, 2018 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Earthquake | Aug 23, 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
74 since 1996: 10 flash floods, 5 river or area floods and 47 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Oct 28, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | May 22, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Aug 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Sep 16, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 12, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Sep 10, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 · May 22, 2025. An area of low pressure occluded over the Ohio Valley on May 21 into May 22. This allowed for a period of elevated onshore flow which led to moderate coastal flooding across portions of eastern Virginia along both sides of the Chesapeake Bay on May 21 and 22.
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 19, 2025. A weak trough aloft and weak surface low were located in the vicinity of southeast Virginia on August 19. Moist, easterly flow led to widespread showers with localized higher rainfall rates; the slow-moving showers on the Virginia Eastern Shore produced areas of flash flooding in the morning 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 Northampton 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.