Washington County, Virginia: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Washington County, Virginia has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 46.6 out of 100, higher than about 46% of US counties, with landslides, strong winds and earthquakes scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $12 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 18 federal disaster declarations that included Washington County since 1976, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3631-VA (Severe Winter Storm, declared 23 January 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 12 tornadoes touching Washington County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for Virginia All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 53,894 Buildings worth $11 billion Area 572 sq mi Risk rank in Virginia 42 of 133 FIPS 51191
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | 94.4 | $92,686 | about 1.7 a year | — |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 74.8 | $933,629 | about 2.8 a year | 108 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 72.7 | $802,694 | about once every 500 years | — |
| Avalanche | Relatively Low | 67.5 | $2,904 | about once every 100 years | 0 |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Low | 63.5 | $8.5 million | about once a year | 28 |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 57.4 | $256,373 | about 49 a year | 109,096 strikes |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 55.0 | $102,587 | about once every 49 years | 6 |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 53.3 | $153,353 | about 12 a year | 455 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Low | 52.5 | $877,556 | about 2.3 a year | 44 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Low | 47.2 | $63,297 | about once every 4.6 years | 15 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 38.7 | $36,330 | about 13 a year | 248 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 33.2 | $14,796 | about once every 926 years | — |
| Hail | Very Low | 32.1 | $109,401 | about 3.3 a year | 125 |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 30.1 | $436,151 | about once every 12 years | 9 |
| Heat wave | No Rating | 0.0 | — | — | 0 |
| Coastal flooding | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 18
Most common: Severe Storm 4, Flood 4, Hurricane 3, Snowstorm 3.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3 | Flood ×2, Drought |
| 1980s | 1 | Flood |
| 1990s | 4 | Snowstorm ×3, Flood |
| 2000s | 4 | Severe Storm ×3, Hurricane |
| 2010s | 2 | Hurricane ×2 |
| 2020s | 4 | Tropical Storm ×2, Winter Storm, Severe Storm |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Washington County
- Severe Winter Storm (2026, EM-3631-VA): 133 Virginia counties designated.
- Hurricane Florence (2018, EM-3403-VA): 133 Virginia counties designated.
- Hurricane Sandy (2012, EM-3359-VA): 133 Virginia counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Tropical Storm Helene (2024), Hurricane Florence (2018), Hurricane Sandy (2012), Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Virginia also had 3 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 12
| Tornadoes touching the county | 12 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F3 ×2 |
| Peak month | April (7) |
| Deadliest | 27 Apr 2011, EF3, 19.6 mi path, 3 killed, 50 injured |
| Longest path | 27 Apr 2011, EF3, 19.6 mi path, 3 killed, 50 injured |
| Most recent | 29 Feb 2012, EF0, 0.6 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 4 / 56 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Washington County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County (this page) | — | Relatively Low | 46.6 | Landslide |
| Bristol City | 21 km | Very Low | 8.6 | Earthquake |
| Russell County | 26 km | Very Low | 36.5 | Landslide |
| Johnson County, TN | 31 km | Very Low | 28.2 | Landslide |
| Sullivan County, TN | 39 km | Relatively Low | 71.5 | Landslide |
| Smyth County | 40 km | Relatively Low | 57.8 | Cold wave |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Virginia, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively High 61.0 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively Low 34.8 |
| Community risk factor | 1.24 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $12 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Washington County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Virginia · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Landslide: Landslides recorded
- Strong wind: Power outages now
- Earthquake: Earthquakes today · Earthquake safety guide
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Washington County
What natural disasters is Washington County, Virginia most at risk from?
Washington County, Virginia has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 46.6 out of 100, higher than about 46% of US counties, with landslides, strong winds and earthquakes scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $12 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Washington County had?
OpenFEMA lists 18 federal disaster declarations that included Washington County since 1976, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3631-VA (Severe Winter Storm, declared 23 January 2026). Another 3 Virginia declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Washington County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 12 tornadoes touching Washington County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 27 Apr 2011, EF3, 19.6 mi path, 3 killed, 50 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.