706 flood insurance claims·$15.1M 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 Pocahontas 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.
Flooding in Pocahontas County is driven by a nearly even distribution of general floods and flash floods, with 28 flood events and 27 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years. Recent NOAA storm data illustrates this pattern, noting events such as a low pressure system that brought widespread rainfall and flooding on February 1st, followed by additional flood events driven by approaching low pressure systems and warm fronts on February 6th and February 15th.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage is heavily concentrated in Zone A, which accounts for 545 claims with an average payout of $26,137 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. An additional 143 claims were filed in areas with an unknown zone designation, averaging $20,396 with an average recorded water depth of 6 inches, while 18 claims in Zone X averaged $38,059 with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, as the vast majority of historical claims and water accumulation impacts are concentrated in this designated zone.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Pocahontas County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
545 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 388 claims and $10.1M paid, the year of Flooding and Flooding, Heavy Winds.
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.
41 NOAA storm reports from Pocahontas County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the West Virginia flood stories →
23 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 |
| 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 Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 14, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
55 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 28 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 1, 2025 | $1,500 |
| Flood | Jan 28, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 17, 2023 | $250 |
| Flood | Jan 9, 2022 | $2,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 16, 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…
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…
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…
Flood · Feb 1, 2025. A low pressure system brought widespread rainfall to the area on the 31st of January, initiating flooding in poor drainage areas and along local creeks and streams. While rainfall ended the evening of the 31st, high water and river flooding continued into early February. River flooding persisted along the Little Kanawha River through the 1st of February, while the Tygart Valley and Buckhannon Rivers did not recede…
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 Pocahontas 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.