230 flood insurance claims·$6.3M paid·9 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 Westmoreland 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 summer thunderstorms and recurring coastal flooding dominate the flood profile of Westmoreland County, Virginia, supported by thirty flash flood events and eleven coastal flood events recorded over the last thirty years alongside tropical storms and hurricanes.
Recent impacts are illustrated by events such as the October 12, 2025, coastal low that produced prolonged northeast winds and widespread moderate to major coastal flooding along the Chesapeake Bay and coastal waters, as well as slow-moving thunderstorms with anomalously high precipitable water values that caused flash flooding on July 14, 2025. Additional coastal flooding occurred on May 21, 2025, due to an area of low pressure over the Ohio Valley, and on October 1, 2025, driven by elevated winds and long-period swell from offshore hurricanes.
Homeowners and real estate professionals should pay the closest attention to properties located within FEMA flood zones A and X, which account for the highest volume of National Flood Insurance Program claims. Zone A properties recorded 136 claims with an average payout of $44,883 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches, while Zone X properties recorded 82 claims with an average payout of $21,980 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Westmoreland County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
143 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 10 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 2003, with 91 claims and $4.2M paid, the year of Hurricane Isabel.
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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Westmoreland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 2, 2022 |
| Tropical Storm Michael | Oct 9, 2018 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| The Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 8, 2011 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Tropical Depression Ernesto, Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 29, 2006 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
50 since 1996: 30 flash floods, 5 river or area floods and 11 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Oct 29, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Aug 22, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | May 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 12, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 1, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Oct 29, 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.
Coastal Flood · Aug 22, 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.
Coastal Flood · May 21, 2025. An area of low pressure occluded over the Ohio Valley on May 21 into May 22. This allowed for a period of elevated onshore flow which led to moderate coastal flooding across portions of eastern Virginia along both sides of the Chesapeake Bay on May 21 and 22.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2025. A weak frontal boundary sagged south toward the area during the afternoon/evening. Scattered to numerous thunderstorms initially developed to the north (near that boundary) and also to the west along higher terrain. The environment ahead of the boundary was characterized by very weak deep-layer flow and anomalously high PW values on the order of 2.1-2.2, leading to slow-moving storms with very 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 Westmoreland 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.