6,260 flood insurance claims·$103.1M paid·6 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 Virginia Beach 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 slow-moving summer thunderstorms and heavy rainfall dominates the flood event mix in Virginia Beach city, accounting for 69 recorded events over the last 30 years, alongside coastal floods, general floods, tropical storms, hurricanes, and storm surges. Recent events illustrate these hazards, such as the slow-moving storms and heavy rainfall that produced widespread flash flooding across two rounds on July 14–15, 2025, and the low-pressure system that brought heavy rainfall, inland-rotating bands, and freshwater flooding exacerbated by higher-than-normal high tides on September 16, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood risks extend across multiple zones, with high claim volumes in both high-risk and moderate-to-low risk areas. Zone A records the highest claim volume with 4,419 claims averaging a $22,928 payout and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X records 1,376 claims with an average payout of $20,789 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches, and Zone V records 157 claims with an average payout of $17,870 and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties in high-risk coastal zones, as well as those in moderate-to-low risk zones like Zone X that still accumulate significant flood claims and standing water depths, should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
6% of Virginia Beach city’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
4,875 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 1,494 claims and $53.4M 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.
46 NOAA storm reports from Virginia Beach city describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 6 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 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Ida And A Nor'east | Nov 11, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
132 since 1996: 69 flash floods, 16 river or area floods and 30 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Oct 28, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Aug 21, 2025 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Sep 16, 2025 | $80,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Oct 28, 2025. Low pressure off the Mid-Atlantic coast combined with high pressure in Canada, resulting in a lengthy period of northeasterly onshore flow. Increasing tidal anomalies resulted in moderate to locally major tidal flooding over an extended period.
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 · 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.
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.
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 Virginia Beach 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.