Suffolk, VA
Suffolk County in Virginia has 12 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 #717 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 14 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $469,521 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Suffolk County
The 12 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Suffolk County, VA (1972–2018). Total declarations on record: 12.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 2018 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence | DR-3403 |
| Nov 2, 2016 | Hurricane | Hurricane Matthew | DR-4291 |
| Oct 29, 2012 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy | DR-3359 |
| Sep 3, 2011 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene | DR-4024 |
| Aug 26, 2011 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene | DR-3329 |
| Sep 12, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3240 |
| Sep 18, 2003 | Hurricane | Hurricane Isabel | DR-1491 |
| Sep 18, 1999 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations | DR-1293 |
| Sep 16, 1999 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Emergency Declarations | DR-3147 |
| Sep 4, 1998 | Hurricane | Hurricane Bonnie | DR-1242 |
| Sep 6, 1996 | Hurricane | Hurricane Fran and Associated Severe Storm Cond | DR-1135 |
| Jun 23, 1972 | Flood | Tropical Storm Agnes | DR-339 |
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 |
| Nelson | A | 14 | 0 | 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 Suffolk County, VA have?
Suffolk County, VA has 12 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1972–2018). The 5 most recent are: Hurricane Florence (declared Sep 11, 2018, DR-3403); Hurricane Matthew (declared Nov 2, 2016, DR-4291); Hurricane Sandy (declared Oct 29, 2012, DR-3359); Hurricane Irene (declared Sep 3, 2011, DR-4024); Hurricane Irene (declared Aug 26, 2011, DR-3329). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Suffolk County, VA?
Suffolk County is graded A (composite score 14/100, low risk). It ranks #717 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 Suffolk County?
14 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Suffolk County, VA, totaling $469,521 in payouts. The average claim is $33,537. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Suffolk County, VA had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Suffolk County was Hurricane Florence on Sep 11, 2018 (DR-3403). The county has 12 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1972–2018.
For this entity, the underlying data on this page comes from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. The breakdown above is the federal record; the paragraphs below add the per-entity context that makes the headline numbers usable for a real decision rather than just a data lookup.
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.