46 flood insurance claims·$303,227 paid·1 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 Norton 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.
38% of Norton city’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
34 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 2 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 1982, with 14 claims and $18,404 paid.
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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Norton city describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Post-tropical Cyclone Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| 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.
14 since 1996: 5 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 10, 2018 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2016 | $3,000 |
| Flood | Mar 5, 2015 | $30,000 |
| Flood | Mar 4, 2015 | $8,000 |
| Flood | Sep 26, 2009 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2009 | — |
| Flood | Jul 7, 2005 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 2024. Tropical Storm Helene caps off a several day heavy rainfall event in association with a stalled closed upper low with additional rain yielding catastrophic flash and river flooding, and significant wind damage as wet soils and strong wind gusts led to forest damage.
Flood · Feb 10, 2018. At 500 MB, a strong western Atlantic high pressure ridge and a deep low pressure trough over the High Plains were denoted at the surface by a slow-moving cold front over the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. This resulted in unseasonably warm and humid conditions across east Tennessee and southwest Virginia, and widespread heavy rains.
Flash Flood · Aug 8, 2016. Slow moving summertime afternoon thunderstorms produced two inches or more of rainfall, resulting in flash flooding.
Flood · Mar 5, 2015. An unusually deep snow pack across southwest Virginia underwent melting from warming temperatures and from liquid rain falling upon it. Flooding in low-lying areas, streams, and rivers resulted and became widespread.
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 Norton 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.