Natural hazards · Blue Ridge

Blue Ridge, VA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Blue Ridge comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1985. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Blue Ridge?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Blue Ridge to be higher than in 41% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding80%Strong wind6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Blue Ridge faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

80% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Blue Ridge flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Blue Ridge, from FEMA’s records.

3paid claims since 1985

$44Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19852026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Blue Ridge isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Botetourt County.

Disasters that hit Blue Ridge

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Blue Ridge itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Blue Ridge.

Brought FEMA money into Blue RidgeDeclared for Botetourt County only

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding From the Remanants of Hurricane Jeanne

4 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

Botetourt County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Blue Ridge covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Blue Ridge’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Blue Ridge. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Blue Ridge total about $404K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.