367 flood insurance claims·$6.0M paid·5 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 Waynesboro 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.
River flooding driven by heavy rainfall and runoff into the South Fork of the Shenandoah River shapes the flood risk in Waynesboro city, supported by 15 flood events and 8 flash flood events over the last thirty years. NOAA storm records document significant flooding from tropical moisture and heavy rainfall on September 27, 2024, and September 30, 2024, when saturated ground accelerated runoff along the Blue Ridge Mountains. Localized flooding also occurs from isolated summer storms, such as the event on July 11, 2018.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that high-risk Zone A properties experience the heaviest concentration of flood impacts, accounting for 285 claims with an average payout of $19,517 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Properties located in shaded Zone X_SHADED also face notable risk, recording 35 claims with a higher average payout of $40,686 and an average water depth of 6 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties in Zone A and Zone X_SHADED should pay the closest attention to flood risk, as these areas account for the vast majority of historical insurance claims and payout amounts in Waynesboro city.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
16% of Waynesboro city’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
341 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 9 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 136 claims and $3.1M 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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Waynesboro city describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 5 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 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
| Hurricane Fran And Associated Severe Storm Cond | Sep 5, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
23 since 1996: 8 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Sep 30, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 11, 2018 | — |
| Flood | May 5, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 29, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 3, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Apr 16, 2011 | — · 2 killed |
| Flood | Dec 7, 2011 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Sep 30, 2024. More heavy rain occurred due to plenty of moisture and lift around the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia. The ground was already saturated due to previous rainfall, so this led to more instances of flooding and flash flooding.
Flood · Sep 27, 2024. Heavy rain due to tropical moisture and enhanced lift around the Blue Ridge Mountains caused excess water to runoff into the south Fork of the Shenandoah River. This led to flooding around Waynesboro. Additional flooding took place on the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains across Albemarle County as well as northern Nelson County.
Flood · Jul 11, 2018. An isolated thunderstorm produced over an inch of rain in the City of Waynesboro during the evening of July 11th, causing localized flooding.
Flood · May 5, 2017. Low pressure was located across the Tennessee Valley while a strong low level jet transported moisture into the Mid-Atlantic. Showers and thunderstorms led to heavy rain across northern and central Virginia leading to scattered flooding mainly from rivers and creeks over flowing.
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 Waynesboro 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.