Natural hazards · Wise

Wise, VA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wise comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 36 claims here since 1978. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Wise?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wise to be higher than in 9% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding52%Cold waves26%Strong wind6%Earthquakes5%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Wise faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 23% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHeat wavesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Wise flood?

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

36paid claims since 1978

$464Kpaid to owners

7homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Helene: 1 claim, $28K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Wise County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

44flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Wise

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WiseDeclared for Wise County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

58 households applied for aid $101K aid approved

2009

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$56K to the Town of Wise for repairs

2003

Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record Snowfall, Heavy Rain,floodind, and Mudslide

23 households applied for aid $31K aid approved $28K to the Town of Wise for repairs

Wise County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms 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. Wise 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 Wise’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Wise. 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.