Natural hazards · Fairlawn

Fairlawn, VA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fairlawn comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Fairlawn?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Fairlawn to be higher than in 12% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding68%Cold waves13%Earthquakes8%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Fairlawn faces

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

Inland flooding

68% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHeat wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Fairlawn flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pulaski County.

Disasters that hit Fairlawn

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into FairlawnDeclared for Pulaski County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

12 households applied for aid $52K aid approved

Pulaski County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

Around Fairlawn

Fairlawn and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Radfordmostly inland floodingVery low

Fairlawnmostly inland floodingVery low

New Rivermostly inland floodingVery low

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. Fairlawn 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 Fairlawn’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Fairlawn. 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.