188 flood insurance claims·$3.4M 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 Hardy 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 slow-moving summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Hardy County, supported by 33 flash flood events and 19 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years. Recent NOAA records show multiple instances of this hazard, including a slow-moving cold front with tropical moisture that caused flash flooding on July 29, 2025, and thunderstorms over higher terrain that produced localized rainfall of two to five inches resulting in flash flooding on June 9, 2025.
Federal flood insurance data demonstrates that risk extends across multiple zones. Zone A leads with 129 claims averaging a $21,561 payout and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Properties with unknown flood zones recorded 32 claims with an average payout of $19,993 and an average water depth of 4 inches, while Zone X properties experienced 26 claims averaging a $25,143 payout with an average water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A and unmapped or unknown zones, as these areas account for the vast majority of historical flood insurance claims and structural water damage in the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Hardy County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
130 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 5 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 152 claims and $2.8M paid, the year of Flooding and Hurricane Fran and Associated Heavy Rains,flooding Highwind.
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.
13 NOAA storm reports from Hardy County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the West Virginia flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | May 28, 2018 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 14, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
52 since 1996: 33 flash floods and 19 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Aug 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Apr 16, 2018 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jun 2, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Sep 1, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 29, 2025. A slow moving cold front combined with a highly unstable atmosphere along with tropical moisture to produce slow moving thunderstorms with heavy rainfall. Some of these storms trained over the same areas, resulting in scattered instances of flash flooding. Total rainfall amounts in areas with flash flooding averaged two to four inches.
Flood · May 13, 2025. A slow moving closed upper level low originating from the Gulf of America brought anomalous moisture into the area. A long duration period of rain ensued, with rain rates exceeding two inches an hour during the afternoon of May 13th. The slow moving storms coupled with training led to localized rainfall totals of four to eight inches across Mineral County, WV, with lesser amounts of two to four inches across the r…
Flash Flood · Jun 9, 2025. Thunderstorms developed along the higher terrain before slowly drifting across portions of the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. Thunderstorms produced localized rainfall amounts of two to five inches which resulted in flash flooding.
Flood · Aug 28, 2021. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of an approaching cold front on August 27th-28th, primarily during the afternoon/evening hours each day. Heavy rainfall occurred with these storms which lead to several instances of flooding across the area.
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 Hardy 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.