40 flood insurance claims·$509,139 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 Braxton County, West 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 and general flooding dominate the historical record in Braxton County, driven by 36 flash flood events and 20 general flood events over the last 30 years. Recent weather patterns illustrate this vulnerability, such as a low pressure system on January 31, 2025, that caused local creeks and streams to spill out of their banks and created high water issues in low-lying areas. Additionally, a stalled frontal boundary and approaching disturbances brought rounds of scattered showers and thunderstorms on May 13, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones. Properties in Zone A experienced 20 claims with an average recorded water depth of 7 inches and an average payout of $11,332. Properties in Zone X accounted for 13 claims with an average recorded water depth of 13 inches and an average payout of $27,445, while an unknown zone recorded 7 claims with an average depth of 2 inches and an average payout of $2,919. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to flood risks, given the documented payouts and water depths in these areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Braxton County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
20 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 2003, with 6 claims and $29,588 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storm, Record/near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and Landslides and Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides.
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.
40 NOAA storm reports from Braxton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the West Virginia flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jun 22, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jul 10, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 8, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2015 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
56 since 1996: 36 flash floods and 20 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | $150 |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2022 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 22, 2022 | $100 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2022 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2021 | $6,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2021 | $8,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 31, 2025. An advancing low pressure system set forth ample amounts of lift and moisture to round out the month of January. Widespread rainfall first entered into the southwestern coalfields of West Virginia on the morning of January 31st, and continued to invade northeastward and up into the higher terrain of the state. Local creeks and streams quickly spilled out of their banks on that day in conjunction with high water is…
Flash Flood · May 13, 2025. A frontal boundary stalled over the state of West Virginia beginning on May 11th, then dissolved over the area while a disturbance approached from the southwest on the 12th. Widespread precipitation progressed northward across the area on the 12th, followed by rounds of scattered showers and thunderstorms continuing to impact the area over the next couple of days as an upper level trough and surface low pressure s…
Flood · Feb 6, 2025. Showers first entered into West Virginia on the evening of February 5th as a disturbance skirted by to the south. Precipitation continued into the next day, in addition to a few severe thunderstorms that developed ahead of a cold front in the early afternoon. Strong wind gusts from storms caused numerous downed trees and power line damage across Boone and Lincoln Counties during the early afternoon of February 6th…
Flash Flood · Jun 27, 2022. Daytime heating and an abundance of moisture stirred up afternoon showers and thunderstorms across West Virginia from June 25th to the 27th. The first round of convection on the 25th resulted in several trees down around Central West Virginia while flash flooding took center stage on the 26th and 27th. The town of Flatwoods observed flooding of local businesses as a result of Granny Creek rising out of its banks f…
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 Braxton 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.