Natural hazards · Wachapreague

Wachapreague, VA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wachapreague comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 23 claims here since 1980. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Wachapreague?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wachapreague to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes62%Inland flooding17%Coastal flooding11%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Wachapreague faces

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

Hurricanes

62% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

17% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Coastal flooding

11% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Wachapreague flood?

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

23paid claims since 1980

$430Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19802026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Isabel: 5 claims, $48K
Tropical Storm Ernesto: 5 claims, $135K
November 2009 Nor'easter: 3 claims, $76K

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

🏷️ 10% off flood insurance. Wachapreague is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Accomack County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

7homes raised above flood level

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Wachapreague

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WachapreagueDeclared for Accomack County only

2006

Tropical Depression Ernesto, Severe Storms and Flooding

$7K to the Town of Wachapreague for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

3 households applied for aid $981 aid approved $6K to the Town of Wachapreague for repairs

Accomack County has had 15 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. Wachapreague 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 Wachapreague’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Wachapreague. 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.