Natural hazards · Tappahannock

Tappahannock, VA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Tappahannock comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1996. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Tappahannock?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

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

Hurricanes41%Inland flooding22%Drought10%Tornadoes6%Coastal flooding6%Earthquakes6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Tappahannock faces

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

Hurricanes

41% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 4% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Drought

10% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 52 years in the area

Coastal flooding

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Tappahannock flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Tappahannock, from FEMA’s records.

9paid claims since 1996

$130Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19962026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Isabel: 4 claims, $78K
Tropical Storm Ernesto: 2 claims, $19K
Hurricane Fran: 1 claim, $416

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Essex County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Tappahannock

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into TappahannockDeclared for Essex County only

2011

Hurricane Irene

$46K to the Town of Tappahannock for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

168 households applied for aid $175K aid approved $23K to the Town of Tappahannock for repairs

2000

Severe Winter Storms

$3K to the Town of Tappahannock for repairs

Essex County has had 23 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. Tappahannock 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 Tappahannock’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Tappahannock. 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.

Tappahannock, VA natural hazards

How exposed is Tappahannock?

What Tappahannock faces

Hurricanes

Inland flooding

Drought

Tornadoes

Coastal flooding

Earthquakes

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Tappahannock flood?

Biggest named events

Homes that flooded again and again

What’s been done with FEMA grants

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Isabel

Severe Winter Storms

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

Matches

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