Natural hazards · Hanover

Hanover, VA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hanover comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very 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 Hanover?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hanover to be higher than in 18% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding48%Drought18%Earthquakes13%Tornadoes7%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Hanover faces

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

Inland flooding

48% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 28% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

18% of expected damage

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 75 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Hanover flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hanover County.

Disasters that hit Hanover

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HanoverDeclared for Hanover County only

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes Associated W Td Gaston

24 households applied for aid $64K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

100 households applied for aid $53K aid approved

Hanover County has had 20 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. Hanover 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 Hanover’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Hanover. 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.