52 flood insurance claims·$440,938 paid·2 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 Russell 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 severe weather and thunderstorms dominates the historical flood profile of Russell County, accounting for 20 of the 35 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 15 general flood events. Recent NOAA storm records illustrate these varied mechanisms, including minor flooding along the Clinch River following two days of rain from an upper trough in February 2025, and localized flash flooding in the Rosedale area caused by heavy showers and thunderstorms on July 20, 2025.
Federal flood insurance data further breaks down historical vulnerability across different mapped areas. Properties located in FEMA Zone A have accounted for the highest number of claims at 27, with an average payout of $15,715 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 14 claims with an average payout of $7,088 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, and 10 claims with an average payout of $3,033 and an average water depth of 2 inches occurred in zones with unknown designations.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within FEMA Zone A, which has experienced the highest frequency of insurance claims and larger average financial losses from flood events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Russell County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
28 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 2 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 2002, with 13 claims and $83,149 paid, the year of Severe Storms and 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Russell County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1976, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Feb 10, 2025 |
| Post-tropical Cyclone Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 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.
35 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 1, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 13, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2020 | $691,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 31, 2025. A strong upper trough over the central plains produced two days of rain over southwest Virginia as it approached and crossed the area. A new stream gage network in Virginia measured minor stream flooding at several sites.
Flash Flood · Jun 27, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms affected the southern Appalachian region on the evening of June 27th, and specifically far western Virginia where flash flooding occurred in Russell and Washington counties.
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2025. Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms affected Russell county on the 20th. One heavier period of rain during the late afternoon and early evening time frame lead to some flash flooding in the Rosedale area.
Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A strong synoptic system with heavy rainfall during warm front passage followed by additional rainfall during the severe thunderstorms along the cold front led to reports of flooding in northern portions of East Tennessee. Additionally, strong winds powered by strong winds aloft mixed to the surface, bringing wind advisory conditions to the whole area, a few high wind reports, and some wind damage.
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 Russell 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.