923 flood insurance claims·$13.9M 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 Wyoming 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 Wyoming County, West Virginia is characterized by a mix of general riverine floods and deadly flash floods driven by low pressure systems and heavy rainfall. NOAA records show 24 flood events and 22 flash flood events, resulting in two deaths over the last 30 years. Recent events include heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on February 15, 2025, as well as an advancing low pressure system on January 31, 2025, that caused local creeks and streams to spill out of their banks and backed up culverts in low-lying areas.
Federal flood insurance claims data shows that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas. High-risk Zone A accounts for 583 claims with an average payout of $19,084 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. However, properties outside designated high-risk zones also experience significant impacts. Zone X properties recorded 73 claims averaging $20,879 with an average water depth of 11 inches, Unshaded Zone X properties logged 60 claims averaging $24,183 with an average water depth of 12 inches, and Shaded Zone X properties recorded 52 claims averaging $22,591 with an average water depth of 5 inches. Additionally, claims with unknown zones totaled 154, averaging $5,956 with an average water depth of 6 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located in Zone A near creeks, streams, and low-lying areas, as well as properties in Zone X designations where significant water depths and claim payouts demonstrate that flood risks exist outside of traditional high-risk flood zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
16% of Wyoming County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
695 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 12 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 2001, with 327 claims and $7.7M 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.
36 NOAA storm reports from Wyoming County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the West Virginia flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 8 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 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, Flooding, Mudslides, And Landslides | Jun 12, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
46 since 1996: 22 flash floods and 24 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | $250 |
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | $150 |
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | $500 |
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 7, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 17, 2023 | $200 |
| Flood | Feb 17, 2023 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2022 | $250 |
— = 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…
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…
Flash Flood · May 7, 2024. A disturbance crossing the region brought several rounds of rain and storms across West Virginia between the 6th and 7th of May. On the afternoon and evening of the 7th, one to two inches of heavy rain accompanied a line of convection and led to localized flash flooding on two roads in McDowell and Wyoming counties. Flooding then came to an end once storms departed the area that evening.
Flood · Feb 17, 2023. A stationary front located near West Virginia on the morning of February 16th acted as a link between two low pressure systems streaming north and south of the area. Early morning thunderstorms promoted locally heavy rain, with a second round taking place later that evening as the front made eastward progress. ||Prolonged periods of rain led to flooding across the central and southern portions of the state. Most n…
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 Wyoming 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.