488 flood insurance claims·$6.4M 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 Brooke 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 from localized summer storms and broader regional rain systems dominates the flood character of Brooke County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 29 flash flood events compared to 17 general flood events. Recent incidents include localized flooding driven by training storms on July 20, 2025, and widespread heavy rainfall totaling four to five and a half inches over a multi-day period on April 2 to April 3, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that historical claims are heavily concentrated in designated high-risk areas. Properties located in Zone A account for 392 claims, with an average payout of $15,590 and an average recorded water depth of 24 inches. Additional claims are distributed across unmapped and moderate-to-low risk zones, including Zone X, which recorded an average payout of $44,204 and an average water depth of 25 inches across 11 claims.
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties in Zone A and Zone X should pay the most attention to flood risk, as these areas account for the vast majority of historical claims and significant average water depths during severe weather events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Brooke County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
407 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 21 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 2004, with 196 claims and $3.7M paid, the year of 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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Brooke County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the West Virginia flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 11, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 2, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 14, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 8, 2015 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
46 since 1996: 29 flash floods and 17 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | $132,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | $564,000 |
| Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2019 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Jan 12, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2025. A passing shortwave and remnant MCS outflow was enough to initiate some scattered afternoon showers and storms. Impacts were not widespread, however training storms in an environment with 1000 J/kg MUCAPE and 1.7-1.9 PWAT was sufficient for very localized flooding.
Flash Flood · Apr 11, 2024. A strong mid-level trough and an associated frontal zone crossed through the|Mid-South and took aim on the OH Valley. Strong forcing associated the energy aloft coupled with a gradually destabilizing boundary layer out ahead it set the stage for areas of locally heavy showers and thunderstorms for several hours and prompted dangerous flash flooding. A flash flood emergency was issued for portions of Allegheny Coun…
Flash Flood · Apr 2, 2024. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms prompted a widespread flash flood problems across the Ohio River Valley on April 2nd to April 3rd. The synoptic pattern across the CONUS was a slow moving and deep elongated trough over the Great Plains phasing with a ejecting trough over the Midwest that created an area of converging moisture over eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Overall, over a span of 4 days, fo…
Flood · Apr 2, 2024. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms prompted a widespread flash flood problems across the Ohio River Valley on April 2nd to April 3rd. The synoptic pattern across the CONUS was a slow moving and deep elongated trough over the Great Plains phasing with a ejecting trough over the Midwest that created an area of converging moisture over eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Overall, over a span of 4 days, fo…
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 Brooke 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.