Great Falls is calmer than 78% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Great Falls comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 2001. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Great Falls’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Great Falls?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 22% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 474 of the 700 Virginia towns we cover.
Great Falls covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.
What Great Falls faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Does Great Falls flood? Sometimes: 15 flood claims since 2001
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Great Falls, from FEMA’s records.
Great Falls isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Fairfax County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Great Falls
Disasters that paid out in Great Falls itself (aid to households or repair grants to Great Falls) and its biggest flood years.
- 2003Hurricane Isabel7 households applied for aid$358 aid approved
Fairfax County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.
Old photos of Great Falls after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Great Falls archive →Get ready for what Great Falls actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Great Falls and its neighbors
Great Falls ranks 6th calmest of 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dranesville | Low | inland flooding | 2 |
| Wolf Trap | Low | inland flooding | 6 |
| Great Falls | Low | inland flooding | 15 |
| McLean | Very low | inland flooding | 57 |
| Great Falls Crossing | Very low | inland flooding | 0 |
| Travilah | Very low | inland flooding | 3 |
| Potomac | Very low | inland flooding | 30 |
| Darnestown | Very low | inland flooding | 4 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in January–February
The month each of Fairfax County’s 17 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Great Falls’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Great Falls.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Great Falls, expected losses total about $6.0M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Great Falls.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.