Natural hazards · Breaks

Breaks, VA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Breaks comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Breaks?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Breaks to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding75%Cold waves16%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Breaks faces

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

Inland flooding

75% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Breaks flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Breaks.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Buchanan County.

Disasters that hit Breaks

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BreaksDeclared for Buchanan County only

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $912 aid approved

2003

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

4 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

Buchanan County has had 23 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. Breaks 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 Breaks’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Breaks. 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.