311 flood insurance claims·$4.5M paid·8 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 Jackson 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 severe weather events and standard flooding are the primary flood hazards in Jackson County, driven by a nearly even mix of flash flood and general flood events over the last 30 years. Recent NOAA records show that multi-day precipitation systems accompanied by warm fronts and thunderstorms caused flooding across the area in February 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood claims are distributed across multiple zones, with the highest volume concentrated in high-risk Zone A with 157 claims averaging an 5-inch recorded water depth and a $16,034 payout. Properties outside of primary high-risk areas also face documented risk; unshaded Zone X recorded 59 claims averaging a 4-inch water depth and a $17,490 payout, while standard Zone X recorded 52 claims with an average 8-inch water depth and a $23,091 payout.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, where the highest concentration of historical claims occurs, as well as properties in Zone X and unshaded Zone X where dozens of claims and significant average water depths demonstrate that flood risk extends beyond traditional high-risk flood boundaries.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
28% of Jackson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
218 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 1998, with 65 claims and $1.2M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
60 NOAA storm reports from Jackson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the West Virginia flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 8 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 13, 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.
78 since 1996: 40 flash floods and 38 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 29, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Feb 16, 2025. Light precipitation started to arrive on the evening of February 14th due to an approaching low pressure system, with more substantial rain spreading across the area overnight into the 15th as a warm front approached from the south. This promoted a brief instance of thunderstorms on the morning of February 15th, with damaging winds knocking down trees and power lines to parts of the state. While shower coverage di…
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2025. The middle of the month proved to be active across the state of West Virginia in response to a stalled frontal boundary across Ohio, southern Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia while an upper level disturbance pivoted overhead. Showers and storms began to develop in the moist and unstable environment by the night of June 13th. A lull in precipitation occurred the morning of the 14th, then activity redevelope…
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. Light precipitation started to arrive on the evening of February 14th due to an approaching low pressure system, with more substantial rain spreading across the area overnight into the 15th as a warm front approached from the south. This promoted a brief instance of thunderstorms on the morning of February 15th, with damaging winds knocking down trees and power lines to parts of the state. While shower coverage di…
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…
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 Jackson 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.