65 flood insurance claims·$440,801 paid·2 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 Ritchie 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Ritchie County, West Virginia, supported by 41 flash flood events compared to 15 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years.
Recent weather patterns demonstrate this risk, including heavy showers and persistent storms tied to a stalled frontal boundary in June 2025 that caused flash flooding, as well as a passing disturbance that triggered floods in April 2024. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration records also document a broader flood event in February 2025 driven by showers and thunderstorms ahead of a cold front.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with Zone A accumulating the highest frequency at 36 claims with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches and an average payout of $6,308. Meanwhile, Zone X recorded an average water depth of 2 inches with an average payout of $17,999, and unshaded Zone X recorded an average depth of 1 inch with an average payout of $11,142. Property owners in designated flood hazard areas, particularly Zone A and various Zone X designations, should pay the closest attention to these risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
25% of Ritchie County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
48 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 2 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 25 claims and $201,040 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.
41 NOAA storm reports from Ritchie County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the West Virginia flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1993, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 14, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 8, 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Mudslides, And Landslides | Feb 29, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
56 since 1996: 41 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2022 | $8,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2022 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 · Jun 14, 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 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 · Apr 12, 2024. Showers and thunderstorms developed on the afternoon of April 11th due to the combination of unseasonably warm temperatures and a passing disturbance. Storms crossed in from the Ohio River Valley during the early afternoon and continued an eastward progression into the evening. A swath of tree damage and power outages were observed from Mingo County to the eastern half of the West Virginia from damaging wind gusts…
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 Ritchie 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.