91 flood insurance claims·$3.4M 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 Southampton 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 dominates the flood history of Southampton County, Virginia. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 31 flash flood events, alongside 7 general floods resulting in 1 death, 3 tropical storms, and 1 hurricane. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including slow-moving storms on July 15 that dropped 2 to 4 inches of rain in two rounds, and a heavy rain event on July 27 that caused localized flash flooding across southeast Virginia.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, indicating risk extends beyond high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for the highest volume with 69 claims, averaging $29,757 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone X recorded 12 claims with an average payout of $22,559 and an average water depth of 3 inches. Zone X_SHADED recorded 7 claims with an average payout of $183,593 and an average water depth of 4 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $11,169 and an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists in Southampton County should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A and shaded or unshaded Zone X areas where historical claims and recorded water depths demonstrate ongoing flood risks from heavy rainfall and severe storms.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of Southampton County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
79 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 4 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 1999, with 49 claims and $2.9M paid, the year of Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations.
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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Southampton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1993, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Matthew | Oct 7, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Jan 25, 2000 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
42 since 1996: 31 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 23, 2023 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 15, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Nov 12, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 27, 2025. A seasonably humid and unstable environment allowed storms to develop across portions of central and eastern Virginia during the afternoon of July 27. These storms congealed into a line while moving generally southeast to south during the afternoon. Heavy rain rates resulted in locally heavy rainfall and flash flooding across portions of southeast Virginia.
Flash Flood · Jul 18, 2025. A stationary front was draped north of the region with several embedded disturbances aloft moving across the area, resulting in heavy rainfall and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 15, 2025. A moist and unstable air mass was in place from July 14 through July 15. This allowed for widespread, slow-moving storms to move across portions of central, southern, and southeastern Virginia. These storms produced heavy rain and widespread flash flooding in two rounds. One round was from overnight convection on the night of July 14 into the morning of July 15 and the other round was during the afternoon of July…
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 2024. The combination of moisture from Tropical Cyclone Helene overrunning a frontal boundary produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of southeast Virginia.
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 Southampton 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.