1 flood insurance claims·$4,867 paid·8 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 Powhatan 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.
Flash flooding from heavy rain and severe thunderstorms dominates the flood history of Powhatan County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 16 flash flood events, alongside 5 general flood events and 1 tropical storm. Recent documented events include a July 2025 incident where training thunderstorms with high rain rates caused nuisance flash flooding, and strong low pressure systems that brought heavy rain and flash flooding across the region in January 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood impacts extend beyond designated high-risk areas, with claims documented in moderate-to-low risk Zone X. Properties located in Zone X should pay attention to these risks, noting that historical claims in this zone recorded an average water depth of 1 inch with an average payout of $4,867.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 1 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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Powhatan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Feb 10, 2025 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 2, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Michael | Oct 9, 2018 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
22 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Nov 12, 2020 | — |
| Flood | May 18, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Oct 11, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2008 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 1, 2025. An upper-level trough and cold front progressed from the Great Lakes region into the Mid-Atlantic on July 1. Numerous thunderstorms moved into central Virginia in the afternoon and evening hours. With training storms and very high rain rates, heavy rain led to nuisance flash flooding in some areas.
Flash Flood · Jan 9, 2024. Strong low pressure and an associated cold front moving across the Mid Atlantic Region produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of central, south central and southeast Virginia.
Flash Flood · May 16, 2023. Scattered thunderstorms along a frontal boundary produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of central and south central Virginia.
Flood · Nov 12, 2020. Deep tropical moisture streaming northward into the Mid Atlantic region combined with the approach of a cold front and low pressure, produced heavy rain which caused flooding across portions of central and southeast Virginia.
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 Powhatan 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.