205 flood insurance claims·$5.7M 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 Shenandoah 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.
Standard riverine flooding combined with flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Shenandoah County, which recorded 136 flood events and 49 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall events are frequently driven by slow-moving storms, tropical moisture, and stalled frontal boundaries, as demonstrated by flash floods in May, June, and July of 2025 that dropped localized rainfall amounts ranging from one to five inches over saturated ground.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas. Properties located in Zone A account for the highest claim volume with 149 claims, averaging a payout of $29,558 and an average recorded water depth of 16 inches. However, properties in moderate-to-low risk areas also face significant exposure; Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 28 claims with an average payout of $35,658 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches, while Zone X recorded 27 claims with an average payout of $37,007 and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches. Zone X_SHADED recorded one claim with an average payout of $9,879 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties situated in Zone A riverine floodplains, as well as homes located in Zone X areas where historical claims demonstrate that severe water depths and high-cost damages can still occur outside designated high-risk zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
16% of Shenandoah County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
178 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 15 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 139 claims and $4.7M 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.
57 NOAA storm reports from Shenandoah County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
185 since 1996: 49 flash floods and 136 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 14, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 4, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Feb 4, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Sep 9, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 16, 2025. An anomalously moist airmass with tropical moisture resided over much of Virginia on July 16th. This comes after several days of showers and thunderstorms, which left some areas with suppressed flash flood guidance. Slow moving thunderstorms developed on remnant boundaries and terrain circulations before propagating eastward. These storms produced localized rainfall amounts of two to five inches.
Flash Flood · May 14, 2025. Underneath an upper level low, slow moving thunderstorms trained over central Virginia producing a quick one to three inches of rain resulting in flash flooding. This comes a day after a few inches of rain had just fallen.
Flood · May 14, 2025. A slow moving closed upper level low originating from the Gulf of America brought anomalous moisture into the area bringing localized heavy rain and a long duration moderate rain event.
Flash Flood · Jun 14, 2025. A weak area of low pressure interacted with an anomalously moist airmass and stalled frontal boundary. This spawned showers and thunderstorms that resulted in localized amounts of one to five inches of rain. The higher amounts were where storms trained or stalled.
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 Shenandoah 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.