189 flood insurance claims·$3.3M paid·7 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 Roane 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 and general flooding driven by heavy rainfall dominate the flood character of Roane County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 40 flash flood events resulting in 2 deaths, alongside 34 general flood events causing 1 death. Recent occurrences include widespread flooding on January 31, 2025, when a low-pressure system brought heavy moisture that caused local creeks and streams to spill from their banks and backed up culverts in low-lying areas. Additional flooding events occurred on February 6, 2025, driven by continuous showers and disturbances passing through the region.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood impacts extend across multiple zones within the county. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 100 filed, averaging $16,022 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 27 claims with an average payout of $49,236 and an average water depth of 13 inches, while Zone X shaded areas recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $47,812 and an average water depth of 14 inches. Zone X unshaded areas logged 26 claims with an average payout of $16,240 and an average water depth of 9 inches, and unknown zones recorded 30 claims averaging $6,503 with an average water depth of 6 inches. Residents with properties located in designated Zone A, as well as those in Zone X and low-lying areas prone to creek overflow or backed-up culverts, should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
24% of Roane County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
132 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 2013, with 31 claims and $927,234 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.
59 NOAA storm reports from Roane County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the West Virginia flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1993, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 11, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Aug 28, 2023 |
| 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 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 13, 2013 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
74 since 1996: 40 flash floods and 34 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | $150 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 13, 2024 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 17, 2023 | $250 |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2023 | $500 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 31, 2025. An advancing low pressure system set forth ample amounts of lift and moisture to round out the month of January. Widespread rainfall first entered into the southwestern coalfields of West Virginia on the morning of January 31st, and continued to invade northeastward and up into the higher terrain of the state. Local creeks and streams quickly spilled out of their banks on that day in conjunction with high water is…
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2025. Several days of active weather took place across West Virginia from July 14th to the 17th in response to a cold front festering over the area. A warm, moist, and unstable environment in the midst of the front's residency conjured up daily chances for afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. While one instance of flooding took place on the front end of this active period, the predominant impacts observed du…
Flash Flood · Aug 13, 2025. Scattered showers and thunderstorms blossomed across the area on the 13th of August as a cold front slowly approached from the northwest. The front eventually reached the Ohio River around midnight and then proceeded southeast through West Virginia by the afternoon of the 14th. ||In addition to producing heavy downpours, thunderstorms began training across portions of southeast Ohio and southwest West Virginia dur…
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…
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 Roane 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.