Natural hazards · Triangle

Triangle, VA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Triangle comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1996. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Triangle?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Triangle to be higher than in 16% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding59%Heat waves11%Tornadoes8%Hurricanes6%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Triangle faces

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

Inland flooding

59% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 30% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

11% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 45% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Triangle flood?

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

2paid claims since 1996

$70Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19962026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Prince William County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Triangle

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into TriangleDeclared for Prince William County only

2003

Hurricane Isabel

12 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

Prince William County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

Around Triangle

Triangle and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Dumfriesmostly inland floodingLow

Trianglemostly inland floodingVery low

Cherry Hillmostly inland floodingVery low

Quantico Basemostly 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. Triangle covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Triangle’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Triangle. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Triangle total about $1.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.