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Editorial

Most disaster-prone counties in Virginia

Virginia has 2,715 county-level FEMA disaster declarations across 133 counties. The dominant hazard type is hurricane. Bedford County leads with 28 declarations, followed by Nelson County and Buchanan County.

This ranking shows every county in Virginia ordered by how many times FEMA has issued a disaster declaration affecting it. Counties near coastlines, river systems, or wildfire corridors tend to appear at the top because the same geographic exposure produces recurring events across decades.

Each county links to a full disaster history page with the complete declaration timeline, hazard type breakdown, decade trends, and whatever FEMA spending data is available. For a national view, see the most disaster-prone counties in America page.

Virginia ranking

All counties by FEMA declaration count

#CountyDeclarationsTop hazardFirst yearLatest year
1Bedford County28Severe Storm19692026
2Nelson County28Hurricane19692026
3Buchanan County27Severe Storm19772026
4Essex County27Hurricane19692026
5King George County27Hurricane19722026
6Pittsylvania County27Severe Storm19722026
7Appomattox County26Severe Storm19722026
8Craig County26Severe Storm19722026
9Greene County26Hurricane19722026
10Albemarle County25Hurricane19692026
11Chesterfield County25Hurricane19692026
12King and Queen County25Hurricane19692026
13Lancaster County25Hurricane19722026
14Louisa County25Severe Ice Storm19692026
15Northumberland County25Hurricane19692026
16Rappahannock County25Hurricane19722026
17Tazewell County25Severe Storm19762026
18Westmoreland County25Hurricane19692026
19Augusta County24Hurricane19692026
20Botetourt County24Hurricane19692026
21Campbell County24Hurricane19692026
22Caroline County24Severe Ice Storm19692026
23Halifax County24Hurricane19722026
24King William County24Hurricane19692026
25Madison County24Hurricane19722026
26Middlesex County24Hurricane19722026
27Montgomery County24Severe Storm19722026
28Page County24Snowstorm19722026
29Powhatan County24Hurricane19692026
30Richmond County24Hurricane19692026
31Shenandoah County24Hurricane19722026
32Amherst County23Hurricane19692026
33Buckingham County23Hurricane19692026
34Culpeper County23Hurricane19722026
35Cumberland County23Hurricane19692026
36Fluvanna County23Hurricane19692026
37Lunenburg County23Hurricane19722026
38Roanoke County23Tropical Storm19722026
39Rockbridge County23Hurricane19692026
40Warren County23Hurricane19722026
41Alexandria city22Snowstorm19722026
42Amelia County22Hurricane19722026
43Bath County22Hurricane19692026
44Charlotte County22Hurricane19722026
45Dinwiddie County22Hurricane19722026
46Floyd County22Severe Storm19722026
47Franklin County22Hurricane19722026
48Giles County22Severe Storm19722026
49Hanover County22Hurricane19692026
50Henrico County22Hurricane19692026
51Highland County22Hurricane19772026
52New Kent County22Hurricane19772026
53Northampton County22Hurricane19722026
54Nottoway County22Hurricane19722026
55Orange County22Severe Storm19722026
56Prince Edward County22Hurricane19722026
57Pulaski County22Severe Storm19722026
58Arlington County21Snowstorm19722026
59Dickenson County21Severe Storm19772026
60Fauquier County21Hurricane19722026
61Goochland County21Hurricane19692026
62Grayson County21Hurricane19762026
63Hampton city21Hurricane19722026
64Newport News city21Hurricane19722026
65Rockingham County21Flood19722026
66Russell County21Severe Storm19762026
67Smyth County21Severe Storm19722026
68Surry County21Hurricane19722026
69Accomack County20Hurricane19722026
70Alleghany County20Hurricane19692026
71Buena Vista city20Flood19722026
72Clarke County20Hurricane19722026
73Isle of Wight County20Hurricane19722026
74Lee County20Severe Storm19762026
75Mathews County20Hurricane19722026
76Mecklenburg County20Hurricane19722026
77Prince William County20Hurricane19722026
78Richmond city20Hurricane19722026
79Scott County20Severe Storm19772026
80Stafford County20Snowstorm19722026
81Washington County20Severe Storm19762026
82Brunswick County19Hurricane19722026
83Charles City County19Hurricane19722026
84Fairfax County19Snowstorm19722026
85Frederick County19Hurricane19722026
86Fredericksburg city19Snowstorm19722026
87Patrick County19Severe Ice Storm19762026
88Prince George County19Hurricane19772026
89Roanoke city19Tropical Storm19722026
90Spotsylvania County19Snowstorm19692026
91Suffolk city19Hurricane19722026
92Wise County19Severe Storm19772026
93York County19Hurricane19722026
94Bland County18Severe Storm19762026
95Chesapeake city18Hurricane19722026
96Danville city18Hurricane19722026
97Gloucester County18Hurricane19722026
98James City County18Hurricane19722026
99Norfolk city18Hurricane19722026
100Poquoson city18Hurricane19772026
101Portsmouth city18Hurricane19722026
102Sussex County18Hurricane19722026
103Virginia Beach city18Hurricane19722026
104Wythe County18Severe Storm19762026
105Carroll County17Severe Storm19772026
106Fairfax city17Snowstorm19722026
107Greensville County17Hurricane19772026
108Lynchburg city17Hurricane19722026
109Petersburg city17Hurricane19722026
110Radford city17Winter Storm19722026
111Falls Church city16Snowstorm19722026
112Galax city16Winter Storm19722026
113Henry County16Hurricane19722026
114Hopewell city16Hurricane19722026
115Loudoun County16Hurricane19722026
116Williamsburg city16Hurricane19722026
117Colonial Heights city15Hurricane19722026
118Covington city15Winter Storm19722026
119Emporia city15Hurricane19932026
120Manassas city15Snowstorm19932026
121Norton city15Tropical Storm19772026
122Waynesboro city15Hurricane19722026
123Franklin city14Hurricane19932026
124Harrisonburg city14Hurricane19722026
125Lexington city14Hurricane19722026
126Manassas Park city14Snowstorm19932026
127Salem city14Flood19722026
128Staunton city14Hurricane19722026
129Winchester city14Snowstorm19722026
130Bristol city13Hurricane19932026
131Charlottesville city13Hurricane19722026
132Martinsville city13Hurricane19722026
133Southampton County13Hurricane19932026