1,184 flood insurance claims·$20.2M paid·4 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 Roanoke 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 and general riverine flooding dominate the Roanoke city flood risk profile, accounting for 48 flash flood events and 32 flood events—including 1 recorded fatality—alongside 1 tropical storm over the last 30 years. Recent historical events include a flood on February 15, 2025, driven by a deep upper-level trough and Gulf moisture pooling along a warm front, as well as flooding associated with the remnants of Hurricane Debbie on August 8, 2024, which brought strong winds and wet soils.
NFIP claims data demonstrates that property owners in FEMA Zone A face the heaviest risk, accounting for 928 total claims with an average payout of $25,276 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Properties in Zone X_SHADED also experience significant water accumulation, averaging 16 inches of recorded water depth across 33 claims with an average payout of $19,899. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and shaded Zone X areas, as these zones have experienced the highest concentrations of historical claims, the largest payouts, and the deepest average water accumulations.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Roanoke city’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,024 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 8 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 1985, with 216 claims and $7.6M paid, the year of Severe Storms & Flooding.
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.
34 NOAA storm reports from Roanoke city describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding From The Remanants Of Hurricane Jeanne | Sep 27, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
81 since 1996: 48 flash floods and 32 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Sep 19, 2024 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 23, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2021 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2021 | $2,500 |
| Flood | May 4, 2021 | — |
| Flood | May 21, 2020 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A deep upper level trough was observed exiting the southern Rockies during the morning of February 15th, with southwesterly windflow ahead of the trough allowing for a fetch of deep moisture from the western Gulf of America. This moisture pooled along a warm front situated across from Kentucky into southwest Virginia, where precipitable water values increased from 0.6 to 0.7 inches at 7 am that morning, to around…
Flood · Sep 19, 2024. A line of thunderstorms passed across the City of Roanoke between 7 pm and 8 pm EDT during the evening of the 19th. MRMS (Multi-Radar/Multi-Sensor System) data indicated rain falling at rates of between two and five inches per hour with these storms, with total accumulations ranging from 0.75 to locally 1.25 inches, which is around a 2-year Average Recurrence Interval for a 60-minute duration per NOAA Atlas 14 P…
Flood · Aug 8, 2024. The remnants of Hurricane Debbie moved north toward the area on August 8th, 2024. A strong southeast flow of wind on the system's northern extent, along with wet soils due to heavy rainfall, helped to cause downed trees and power lines over portions of Virginia. Winds gusted to at least 40 to 45 mph over parts of the region. The strong winds continued into the morning hours of August 9th, 2024. The highest totals…
Flash Flood · Jul 23, 2023. An upper level storm system crossed the region during peak heating. The passage of this system aided in the lift needed for thunderstorm development within an already very moist and unstable atmosphere. The environment spawned scattered severe thunderstorms which produced damaging winds. In addition, storms were at times slow-moving, with winds up to 700 mb averaging around 10 knots from the southwest. Surface-bas…
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 Roanoke 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.