Photo: Jack on Flickr · CC BY-SA 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg isn’t graded for hazard risk: Fredericksburg is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 2006.
What Fredericksburg 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
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
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.
Does Fredericksburg flood? Sometimes: 15 flood claims since 2006
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Fredericksburg, from FEMA’s records.
- Tropical Storm Lee6 claims · $316K
Fredericksburg isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lebanon County.The storms Fredericksburg remembers
None of the 15 disasters declared for Lebanon County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Fredericksburg itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20116 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Lebanon County
- 20185 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20063 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides, declared for Lebanon County
Lebanon County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Fredericksburg after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Fredericksburg archive →Get ready for what Fredericksburg 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Fredericksburg
Does Fredericksburg flood?
Flood insurance has paid 15 claims in Fredericksburg since 2006, $1.1M in all. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Lee (6).
Is Fredericksburg 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 Lebanon County, 29% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Fredericksburg?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Fredericksburg’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 Fredericksburg?
By flood claims, Tropical Storm Lee: 6 paid, $316K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fredericksburg.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Fredericksburg’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.