282 flood insurance claims·$4.5M paid·7 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 Rockingham 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.
Flooding driven by slow-moving storms and prolonged rainfall dominates Rockingham County, with NOAA records documenting 82 flood events and 58 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including a slow-moving upper-level low that dropped localized rainfall totals of four to eight inches across the Blue Ridge on May 13, 2025, and rounds of slow-moving thunderstorms on July 15, 2025, that produced two to five inches of rain in areas with suppressed flash flood guidance.
NFIP claim data indicates that properties within high-risk Zone A have experienced the highest impact, accounting for 191 claims with an average payout of $22,251 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Claims have also been filed in lower-risk and unmapped areas, including 30 claims in Zone X averaging $20,444 with an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, and 20 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED averaging $15,621 with an average recorded water depth of 17 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and unshaded Zone X areas should pay the most attention to flood risk, as these zones have recorded the highest average water depths and claim frequencies during heavy precipitation events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of Rockingham County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
220 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 10 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 1996, with 177 claims and $3.0M paid, the year of Flooding, High Winds, and Wind Driven Rain and Hurricane Fran and Associated Severe Storm Cond.
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.
36 NOAA storm reports from Rockingham County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Feb 10, 2025 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Coffman Fire | Feb 19, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
140 since 1996: 58 flash floods and 82 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Sep 30, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 30, 2025. A slow moving cold front combined with a highly unstable atmosphere along with tropical moisture to produce slow moving thunderstorms with heavy rainfall. Some of these storms trained over the same areas, resulting in scattered instances of flash flooding. Total rainfall amounts in areas with flash flooding averaged two to four inches.
Flash Flood · Jul 19, 2025. An unstable atmosphere along with plenty of moisture led to the development of showers and thunderstorms. The thunderstorms were slow moving, and trained over the same areas in spots resulting in flash flooding. Localized rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches were observed, with upwards of 5 inches in the most persistent thunderstorms.
Flash Flood · Jul 15, 2025. An anomalously moist airmass with tropical moisture resided over much of Virginia on July 15th. Another round of slow moving thunderstorms developed on remnant boundaries and terrain circulations before propagating eastward. These thunderstorms moved into areas with suppressed flash flood guidance due to anteceding conditions. Ultimately, these storms produced localized rainfall amounts of two to five inches.
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…
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 Rockingham 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.