80 flood insurance claims·$1.7M 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 Washington 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 driven by severe summer thunderstorms and heavy rainfall systems dominates Washington County, with 27 flash flood events and 17 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years. Recent regional impacts include heavy rainfall from a strong upper trough producing minor stream flooding on January 31, 2025, and scattered thunderstorms causing flash flooding in Washington and Russell counties on June 27, 2025.
Federal insurance claims data shows varying impacts across different zones. Properties located in FEMA Zone A experienced 24 claims with an average payout of $46,951 and an average recorded water depth of 26 inches. Zone X properties recorded 36 claims with an average payout of $30,105 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. An additional 20 claims were filed under an unknown zone, averaging $1,597 with an average water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within FEMA Zone A, where claims reflect significantly higher average payouts and greater recorded water depths than other zones in the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Washington County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
24 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 2002, with 13 claims and $184,513 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Washington County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1976, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Feb 10, 2025 |
| Post-tropical Cyclone Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 17, 2002 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
44 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 17 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | $105.0M |
| Flood | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 31, 2025. A strong upper trough over the central plains produced two days of rain over southwest Virginia as it approached and crossed the area. A new stream gage network in Virginia measured minor stream flooding at several sites.
Flash Flood · Jul 30, 2025. Training thunderstorms affected the far northeast Tennessee valley and southwest Virginia on the evening of the 30th, producing some flash flooding across those areas.
Flash Flood · Jun 27, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms affected the southern Appalachian region on the evening of June 27th, and specifically far western Virginia where flash flooding occurred in Russell and Washington counties.
Flood · Jun 27, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms affected the southern Appalachian region on the evening of June 27th, and specifically far western Virginia where flash flooding occurred in Russell and Washington counties.
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 Washington 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.