Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Alexandria faces more hazard damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Alexandria gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Alexandria faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Alexandria’s grade
River and rain flooding is 93% of the building damage FEMA expects in Alexandria, and Alexandria’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Alexandria’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $893K a year in losses across Alexandria: $769K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Alexandria flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Alexandria. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Alexandria isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Grafton County.9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Alexandria
Disasters that paid out in Alexandria itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Alexandria), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$269K to the Town of Alexandria for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene5 households applied for aid$5K aid approved$43K to the Town of Alexandria for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding4 households applied for aid$2K aid approved$149K to the Town of Alexandria for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$107K to the Town of Alexandria for repairs
- 2005Record Snow$5K to the Town of Alexandria for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$3K to the Town of Alexandria for repairs
Show all 9
- 2003Snow$5K to the Town of Alexandria for repairs
- 2001Snow$6K to the Town of Alexandria for repairs
- 1999Tropical Storm Floyd$48K to the Town of Alexandria for repairs
Grafton County has had 34 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Alexandria after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Alexandria archive →Alexandria and its neighbors
Alexandria is 4th of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | Dmore damage than 85% | river and rain flooding | 9 |
| Hill | Dmore damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Danbury | Dmore damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Alexandria | Dmore damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Orange | — | 320 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Hebron | — | 883 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Alexandria faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Alexandria
Is Alexandria at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Alexandria has higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Alexandria in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Grafton County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Alexandria?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Alexandria’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Alexandria?
By FEMA money that reached Alexandria, Severe Storm and Flooding (2017): $269K to the Town of Alexandria for repairs.
Is Alexandria at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (93%), and Alexandria’s rate for it is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Alexandria.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Alexandria’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.