370 flood insurance claims·$6.8M 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 Warren 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.
Frequent floods and flash floods driven by slow-moving, moisture-laden storms define the flood risk in Warren County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 70 flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 45 flash flood events. Recent history underscores this pattern: on May 13–14, slow-moving storms brought localized rainfall totals of four to eight inches across the Blue Ridge, while training thunderstorms on July 16 produced two to five inches of rain and subsequent flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with high-risk areas bearing the heaviest impacts. Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims with 284 filings, averaging $22,588 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 12
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of Warren County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
327 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 192 claims and $4.8M 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.
30 NOAA storm reports from Warren County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
23 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 |
| Smith Fire | Feb 19, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
115 since 1996: 45 flash floods and 70 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Sep 29, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 19, 2025. An unstable atmosphere along with plenty of moisture led to the development of showers and thunderstorms. The thunderstorms were slow moving, and trained over the same areas in spots resulting in flash flooding. Localized rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches were observed, with upwards of 5 inches in the most persistent thunderstorms.
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 · 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.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2025. Another day of an anomalously moist airmass produced numerous showers and thunderstorms across Virginia. This resulted in localized rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches in a short period of time, which resulted in instances of flooding and flash flooding.
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 Warren 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.