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Natural hazards · Bluefield

Bluefield, VA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bluefield comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 108 claims here since 1978. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Bluefield?

19
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bluefield to be higher than in 19% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding69%Cold waves16%Earthquakes6%Everything else9%
By hazard

What Bluefield faces

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

Inland flooding

69% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHeat wavesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Bluefield flood?

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

108paid claims since 1978
$1.2Mpaid to owners
16homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Helene: 10 claims, $240K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Bluefield isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Tazewell County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

12flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
1flood-prone homes bought out and moved
1buildings floodproofed
Disasters that hit Bluefield

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Bluefield itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Bluefield.

Brought FEMA money into BluefieldDeclared for Tazewell County only
2024

Tropical Storm Helene

479 households applied for aid $865K aid approved $472K to the Town of Bluefield for repairs
2009

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$35K to the Town of Bluefield for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

40 households applied for aid $38K aid approved
2003

Severe Storms and Flooding

87 households applied for aid $161K aid approved
2003

Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record Snowfall, Heavy Rain,floodind, and Mudslide

6 households applied for aid $4K aid approved
2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$3K to the Town of Bluefield for repairs
2001

Severe Storms and Flooding

$29K to the Town of Bluefield for repairs
2000

Severe Winter Storms

$5K to the Town of Bluefield for repairs
Tazewell County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms 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. Bluefield is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Bluefield’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Bluefield. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

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.

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