89 flood insurance claims·$1.7M 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 Monroe 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 dominates Monroe County, accounting for 30 out of 45 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, complemented by 15 general flood events. Recent events illustrate these hazards, such as a flash flood and a flood on February 15, 2025, driven by a deep upper-level trough pulling moisture from the Gulf of America, as well as a flash flood on May 18, 2024, triggered by an upper-level trough interacting with abundant moisture and high precipitable water values. A localized river flood also occurred on February 17, 2023, following prolonged rainfall and saturated ground conditions.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data shows the highest volume of claims in Zone A with 71 claims averaging an 8-inch recorded water depth and an average payout of $19,999. However, properties in Zone X recorded significant impacts as well, with 5 claims averaging a 34-inch recorded water depth and an average payout of $75,785. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to flood risk, given the high claim volumes in Zone A and the severe water depths recorded in Zone X.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Monroe County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
75 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 1996, with 37 claims and $659,028 paid, the year of 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.
21 NOAA storm reports from Monroe County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the West Virginia flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 15, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jun 22, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides | Nov 11, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
45 since 1996: 30 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 17, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2020 | $400,000 |
| Flood | Jun 17, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2020 | $20,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A deep upper level trough was observed exiting the southern Rockies during the morning of February 15th, with southwesterly windflow ahead of the trough allowing for a fetch of deep moisture from the western Gulf of America. This moisture pooled along a warm front situated across from Kentucky into southwest Virginia, where precipitable water values increased from 0.6 to 0.7 inches at 7 am that morning, to around…
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A deep upper level trough was observed exiting the southern Rockies during the morning of February 15th, with southwesterly windflow ahead of the trough allowing for a fetch of deep moisture from the western Gulf of America. This moisture pooled along a warm front situated across from Kentucky into southwest Virginia, where precipitable water values increased from 0.6 to 0.7 inches at 7 am that morning, to around…
Flash Flood · May 18, 2024. An upper level trough passed across the central Appalachians during the afternoon and evening of May 18th, triggering widely scattered showers and thunderstorms to the north of a stationary front stretching across northern North Carolina. Upper level winds ahead of the trough were light. Moisture was abundant, with precipitable water values ranging from 1.2 to 1.3 inches across southeast West Virginia, while sur…
Flood · Feb 17, 2023. Prolonged rainfall over a 24- to 25-hour period ended around 8 AM EST on February 17th, which resulted in localized minor river flooding across portions of southeast West Virginia (SEWV). Unusual warmth during most of the river meant no frozen ground, snow cover or river ice in the area. However, MRMS CREST indicated that the ground was still 50 to 75 percent saturated from widespread rainfall during the 12th an…
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 Monroe 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.