583 flood insurance claims·$6.6M paid·5 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 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 summer thunderstorms and general flood events dominate the recorded history in Roanoke County, Virginia, based on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data recording 56 flash floods, 39 floods, and 1 tropical storm over the last 30 years. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including severe flash flooding and general flooding driven by deep moisture plumes on February 15, 2025, and anchored thunderstorms producing high rainfall rates over the Peters Creek basin on August 21, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage occurs across multiple flood zones. High-risk Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims with 418 filings averaging a $14,851 payout and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. However, properties outside designated high-risk zones also experience losses, including 59 claims in Zone X averaging a $12,442 payout with an average recorded water depth of 13 inches, 49 claims in Zone UNKNOWN averaging a $15,862 payout with an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, 33 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED averaging an $11,461 payout with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, and 23 claims in Zone X_SHADED averaging an $8,488 payout with an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should note that while Zone A properties file the highest volume of claims, properties in Zone X experience significant average water depths during flood events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
12% of Roanoke County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
474 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 6 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 87 claims and $2.0M 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.
50 NOAA storm reports from Roanoke County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| 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 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
96 since 1996: 56 flash floods and 39 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 21, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 21, 2025 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 21, 2025 | $150,000 |
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 17, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 21, 2025. A thunderstorm developed over the City of Roanoke just before 6:45 pm EDT on August 21st, initially producing rainfall rates to nearly 5 per hour. Though the storm gradually weakened, it remained anchored over primarily the western half of the city through around 8:15 pm EDT before finally pushing away to the south. While nearly all of the city received at least 2 inches of rain, the highest totals were over the…
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…
Flash 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 · Jun 17, 2024. Intensifying high pressure suppressed an otherwise favorable convective environment. Strong daytime heating and southeasterly moisture advection off the Atlantic Ocean overcame the ridging to produce scattered showers and an isolated thunderstorm which caused wind damage in Bedford County. In Roanoke, one storm passed across the city, producing a brief period of rain with rate in excess of 3 inches per hour. The…
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 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.