34 flood insurance claims·$143,529 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 Sussex 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 summer storms dominates the flood character of Sussex County. According to NOAA Storm Events Database records from the last 30 years, the county experienced 37 flash flood events, alongside 4 general flood events, 2 tropical storms, and 1 hurricane.
Recent occurrences illustrate this risk, such as the flash floods recorded in July 2025. During this event, a moist and unstable air mass produced slow-moving storms that dropped widespread rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches across the region in two rounds of heavy rain.
Federal Emergency Management Agency records indicate that properties in Special Flood Hazard Areas experience the highest frequency and depth of impacts. Zone A accounts for 27 claims with an average payout of $5,125 and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. Conversely, lower-risk areas also face potential losses; Zone X recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $5,441 and an average water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $8,693 and an average water depth of 0 inches. Property owners in designated high-risk zones, as well as those in moderate-to-low risk areas, should pay close attention to these historical flood patterns.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Sussex 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 14 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 16 claims and $49,606 paid, the year of Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations and Hurricane Floyd.
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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Sussex County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Tropical Depression Ernesto, Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 29, 2006 |
| 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.
44 since 1996: 37 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 17, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 18, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 2025. A moist and unstable airmass was in place on September 27. Meanwhile, a surface low lingered across south central Virginia along the North Carolina border with a stationary front extending east along the state border. This low slowly moved east-northeast through the afternoon on September 27. This allowed for rounds of heavy showers and storms to move across central and southeast Virginia beginning during the morn…
Flash Flood · Mar 17, 2025. Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of a slow-moving cold front on March 16 across southeast Virginia. These showers and storms trained over the same areas into early on March 17, allowing for heavy rain and instances of flash flooding across portions of southeast Virginia on March 16 and 17.
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 · May 14, 2025. A broad trough was in place across the eastern CONUS, resulting in isolated afternoon and evening storms with locally heavy rainfall.
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 Sussex 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.