234 flood insurance claims·$5.2M 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 Suffolk city, 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 Suffolk City, Virginia. According to NOAA Storm Events Database records from the last 30 years, flash floods occurred 30 times, alongside 8 coastal flood events resulting in 1 death, 6 tropical storm events, 5 hurricane events, and 5 general flood events. Recent documented events include widespread heavy rain and flash flooding driven by a stationary front on June 15, 2025, as well as prolonged moderate to major coastal flooding caused by a coastal low and strong northeast winds on October 12, 2025.
Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance claims reflect risk across multiple zones. Properties in Zone X account for 112 claims with an average payout of $29,698 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone A accounts for 101 claims averaging $38,020 with an average water depth of 8 inches. Zone UNKNOWN records 13 claims averaging $4,004 with an average water depth of 2 inches, while Zone V accounts for 8 claims averaging $12,157 with an average water depth of 11 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in both Zone A and Zone X, which together account for the vast majority of historical insurance claims and water-damage events in the area.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Suffolk city’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
109 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 2016, with 47 claims and $2.3M paid, the year of Hurricane Matthew.
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.
17 NOAA storm reports from Suffolk city describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
19 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 |
| 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.
54 since 1996: 30 flash floods, 5 river or area floods and 8 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Aug 21, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Sep 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 12, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 31, 2025. A front was located north of the region and gradually moved south in response to an approaching mid level disturbance. To the south of the front, robust heating of a moist low level airmass resulted in increasing instability by the afternoon and evening hours. Strong, slow moving, convection resulted in areas of strong winds, heavy rainfall, and flash flooding during the late afternoon and evening.
Coastal Flood · Aug 21, 2025. Hurricane Erin passed well offshore and combined with high pressure to the north, resulting in a period of strong onshore winds and coastal flooding across eastern Virginia and the Virginia Eastern Shore.
Coastal Flood · Sep 16, 2025. A coastal low lingered near the North Carolina and Virginia coastline on September 16, slowly moving northwest into the Chesapeake Bay by the evening of September 16. This low brought a prolonged period of elevated northerly winds across the Chesapeake Bay, resulting in widespread moderate to locally major coastal flooding across portions of eastern Virginia.
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2025. A stationary front was located across central Virginia to northeast North Carolina on June 15. This front slowly moved southwest through the afternoon. Widespread storms developed during the afternoon and continued into the evening on June 15. These storms produced locally heavy rain and flash flooding across portions of central and southeast Virginia. Additionally, an isolated storm produced flash flooding across…
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 Suffolk city 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.