FEMA flood zones · Virginia

Page County, Virginia Flood Zone Map

188 flood insurance claims·$3.6M paid·7 federal flood & hurricane disasters

4% of Page County’s area is in FEMA’s high-risk flood zones.

Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.

Coastal high risk (V, VE)FloodwayHigh risk (A, AE)Moderate (X, 500-year)Minimal (X)Undetermined (D)

Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Page 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.

How Page County floods

River floods and flash floods from slow-moving storms dominate Page County's flood history, backed by 43 flood events, 28 flash flood events, and 1 tropical storm over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include a slow-moving upper-level low in May 2025 that brought rain rates exceeding two inches per hour and localized rainfall totals of four to eight inches across the Blue Ridge. Additionally, heavy rain driven by tropical moisture in September 2024 caused excess runoff into the South Fork of the Shenandoah River.

NFIP claim records indicate that property damage occurs across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for the highest volume with 118 claims averaging a $25,213 payout and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties have recorded 53 claims with an average payout of $17,854 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. A smaller subset of 5 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED recorded an average payout of $35,208 and an average water depth of 35 inches.

Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within high-risk Zone A, as well as structures situated in Zone X where significant claims and water depths have also been documented.

Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.

Where the flood claims came from

6% of Page County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.

126 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.

How deep the water got

outlet80″ door12″24″36″48″60″72″84″

In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 9 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.

Flood claims, year by year

The worst year was 1996, with 122 claims and $2.8M paid, the year of Flooding, High Winds, and Wind Driven Rain and Hurricane Fran and Associated Severe Storm Cond.

1979: 1 claims1985: 20 claims1992: 2 claims1994: 1 claims1996: 122 claims1997: 1 claims1998: 1 claims1999: 2 claims2003: 28 claims2004: 1 claims2006: 1 claims2010: 1 claims2011: 2 claims2013: 1 claims2018: 3 claims2024: 1 claims19801990200020102020

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.

In their words

17 NOAA storm reports from Page County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →

Federal disasters

24 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.

DisasterBegan
Severe Winter StormJan 22, 2026
Severe Winter Storms And FloodingFeb 10, 2025
Hurricane FlorenceSep 13, 2018
Severe Winter Storm And SnowstormJan 22, 2016
Hurricane SandyOct 26, 2012
Severe Storms And Straight-line WindsJun 29, 2012
Severe Winter Storms And SnowstormsFeb 5, 2010
Severe Winter Storm And SnowstormDec 18, 2009

Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.

Recorded flood events

72 since 1996: 28 flash floods and 43 river or area floods.

EventDateDamage
FloodMay 13, 2025—
Flash FloodJul 13, 2025—
FloodSep 30, 2024—
FloodSep 28, 2024—
Flash FloodAug 9, 2024—
FloodOct 1, 2024—
FloodJun 22, 2022—
Flash FloodJun 22, 2022—

— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

From the storm reports

Flood · May 13, 2025. A slow moving closed upper level low originating from the Gulf of America brought anomalous moisture into the area. A long duration period of rain ensued, with rain rates exceeding two inches an hour during the afternoon and evening of May 13th. The slow moving storms coupled with training led to localized rainfall totals of four to eight inches across the Blue Ridge, with lesser amounts of two to four inches alon…

Flash Flood · Jul 13, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms developed early in the afternoon in an anomalously moist airmass along the Chesapeake Bay Breeze and remnant outflow boundaries. These storms remained nearly stationary through the first part of the afternoon producing a quick two to four inches of rain before dissipating.

Flood · Sep 30, 2024. More heavy rain occurred due to plenty of moisture and lift around the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia. The ground was already saturated due to previous rainfall, so this led to more instances of flooding and flash flooding.

Flood · Sep 28, 2024. Heavy rain due to tropical moisture and enhanced lift around the Blue Ridge Mountains caused excess water to runoff into the south Fork of the Shenandoah River. This led to flooding around Waynesboro. Additional flooding took place on the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains across Albemarle County as well as northern Nelson County.

National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

The zones you’ll see on the map

Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.

Cross-section of a river floodplainDiagram: a river valley. The floodway is the channel and the land beside it; the 1%-annual-chance flood surface (the base flood elevation) covers the valley floor as zone A or AE; a narrow band higher up is shaded X, the 0.2% floodplain; higher ground is X.0.2% CHANCE A YEAR (500-YEAR)BASE FLOOD ELEVATION · 1% A YEARXAEFloodwayAEX
  1. A / AE Inside the 1%-a-year floodplain: about a 26% chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. AE has a mapped base flood elevation; plain A does not.
  2. Floodway The channel and the land beside it that has to be kept clear enough to carry the flood. Building here is tightly limited.
  3. X shaded The 0.2% (500-year) floodplain, plus some levee-protected and very shallow flood areas.
  4. X Outside both lines. No federal requirement to insure, which is not the same as no risk.

Every flood zone code explained →

Flood insurance in Page County

If a building in Page 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.