498 flood insurance claims·$6.3M 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 Wetzel 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 summer thunderstorms and slow-moving storm systems dominates the flood risk in Wetzel County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 45 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 15 general flood events.
Recent events illustrate this recurring threat. In April 2024, a slow-moving trough brought multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms that dropped 4 to 5.5 inches of rain across the region over several days. Later, high precipitable water values and training storms drove persistent flash flooding, including events in May and June 2025 that brought intense rainfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour to saturated ground, resulting in widespread road flooding, water rescues, and debris flows.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property owners in high-risk Zone A face the highest concentration of risk, accounting for 406 claims with an average payout of $15,597 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. However, residents in Zone X and Zone X_UNSHADED properties should also pay close attention, as those zones recorded fewer claims—28 and 15 respectively—but yielded higher average payouts of $23,865 and $23,275, with average water depths of 11 and 10 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Wetzel County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
422 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 11 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 2004, with 220 claims and $4.0M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides.
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.
31 NOAA storm reports from Wetzel County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the West Virginia flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 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, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 2, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 14, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jul 28, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 8, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2015 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 29, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
60 since 1996: 45 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 30, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | $1.4M |
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 30, 2025. Surface low pressure tracked across northern West Virginia on May 30th. Some instances of wind damage were noted, especially due to saturated ground and wind generally in the range of 30 to 40 MPH. However, flash flooding had the higher impact, especially in Marion and Monongalia Counties, as 2 to 3.5 inches of rain fell on ground that was already saturated. Widespread flooding of roads, creeks, and streams was r…
Flash Flood · Jun 25, 2025. A warm, moist airmass remained in place through the latter half of the month which allowed for daily shower and thunderstorm chances. Training storms was the primary factor to the resultant flash flooding as cells developed upshear of the initial updrafts in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. One of these storms did result in yet another round of flash flooding for portions of Wheeling WV.
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2025. Following the catastrophic flooding that occurred in portions of Wheeling, WV late on the 14th, another round of slow moving storms developed along a stationary boundary over portions of northern West Virginia. With climatologically high precipitable water values, rainfall was efficient, allowing for 2-4 inch/hr rates. This impacted several counties in northern West Virginia but the hardest hit was the city of Fai…
Flash Flood · Apr 11, 2024. A strong mid-level trough and an associated frontal zone crossed through the|Mid-South and took aim on the OH Valley. Strong forcing associated the energy aloft coupled with a gradually destabilizing boundary layer out ahead it set the stage for areas of locally heavy showers and thunderstorms for several hours and prompted dangerous flash flooding. A flash flood emergency was issued for portions of Allegheny Coun…
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 Wetzel 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.