Salem, VA
Salem County in Virginia has 6 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1972–2018, most recently Hurricane Florence on Sep 11, 2018 (DR-3403). Its flood risk grade is A (Low risk), ranking #1274 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 12 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $283,867 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Salem County
The 6 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Salem County, VA (1972–2018). Total declarations on record: 6.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 2018 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence | DR-3403 |
| Oct 29, 2012 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy | DR-3359 |
| Sep 12, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3240 |
| May 19, 1992 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-944 |
| Nov 9, 1985 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-755 |
| Jun 23, 1972 | Flood | Tropical Storm Agnes | DR-339 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 12 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in Virginia
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amelia | A | 12 | 0 | 9 |
| Appomattox | A | 12 | 0 | 9 |
| Brunswick | A | 12 | 1 | 9 |
| Campbell | A | 12 | 3 | 9 |
| Cumberland | A | 12 | 1 | 9 |
| Dinwiddie | A | 12 | 0 | 9 |
More Counties in Virginia
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Salem County, VA have?
Salem County, VA has 6 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1972–2018). The 5 most recent are: Hurricane Florence (declared Sep 11, 2018, DR-3403); Hurricane Sandy (declared Oct 29, 2012, DR-3359); Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (declared Sep 12, 2005, DR-3240); Severe Storms & Flooding (declared May 19, 1992, DR-944); Severe Storms & Flooding (declared Nov 9, 1985, DR-755). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Salem County, VA?
Salem County is graded A (composite score 12/100, low risk). It ranks #1274 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 Salem County?
12 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Salem County, VA, totaling $283,867 in payouts. The average claim is $23,656. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Salem County, VA had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Salem County was Hurricane Florence on Sep 11, 2018 (DR-3403). The county has 6 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1972–2018.
The this entity record above pulls directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
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.