Natural hazards · Charles

Charles, VA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Charles comes from drought, and overall the risk is low 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 Charles?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Charles to be higher than in 39% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought46%Inland flooding30%Hurricanes9%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Charles faces

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

Drought

46% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Hurricanes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Charles flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Charles City County.

Disasters that hit Charles

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CharlesDeclared for Charles City County only

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes Associated W Td Gaston

3 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

224 households applied for aid $101K aid approved

Charles City County has had 16 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. Charles 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 Charles’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Charles. 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.