Nelson, VA
Nelson County in Virginia has 12 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1969–2018, most recently Hurricane Florence on Oct 15, 2018 (DR-4401). Its flood risk grade is A (Low risk), ranking #708 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 0 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $0 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Nelson County
The 12 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Nelson County, VA (1969–2018). Total declarations on record: 12.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 15, 2018 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence | DR-4401 |
| Sep 11, 2018 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence | DR-3403 |
| Nov 26, 2012 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy | DR-4092 |
| Oct 29, 2012 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy | DR-3359 |
| Sep 12, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3240 |
| Sep 18, 2003 | Hurricane | Hurricane Isabel | DR-1491 |
| Sep 6, 1996 | Hurricane | Hurricane Fran and Associated Severe Storm Cond | DR-1135 |
| May 19, 1992 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-944 |
| Nov 9, 1985 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-755 |
| Oct 10, 1972 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-359 |
| Jun 23, 1972 | Flood | Tropical Storm Agnes | DR-339 |
| Aug 23, 1969 | Hurricane | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-274 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 14 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in Virginia
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton | A | 14 | 0 | 12 |
| Suffolk | A | 14 | 14 | 12 |
| Chesterfield | A | 15 | 5 | 13 |
| Essex | A | 15 | 2 | 13 |
| King and Queen | A | 15 | 1 | 13 |
| Lancaster | A | 15 | 0 | 14 |
More Counties in Virginia
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Nelson County, VA have?
Nelson County, VA has 12 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1969–2018). The 5 most recent are: Hurricane Florence (declared Oct 15, 2018, DR-4401); Hurricane Florence (declared Sep 11, 2018, DR-3403); Hurricane Sandy (declared Nov 26, 2012, DR-4092); Hurricane Sandy (declared Oct 29, 2012, DR-3359); Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (declared Sep 12, 2005, DR-3240). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Nelson County, VA?
Nelson County is graded A (composite score 14/100, low risk). It ranks #708 of 3,277 U.S. counties for flood risk in our scoring model. The grade combines NFIP claims density (40%), disaster frequency (25%), claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%).
How many NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Nelson County?
0 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Nelson County, VA, totaling $0 in payouts. The average claim is $0. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Nelson County, VA had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Nelson County was Hurricane Florence on Oct 15, 2018 (DR-4401). The county has 12 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1969–2018.
this entity is one of the data points covered by this site’s U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations dataset. The detail above comes directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the context that follows situates the headline numbers against the broader distribution across U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states.
Every number on this page links back to FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.