Arcola Slave Quarters · Photo: Cecouchman · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Arcola than almost anywhere in the U.S., mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Arcola gets an A+ for hazard risk: among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns, #4 of 253 in Virginia. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (67%). 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 Arcola 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
Earthquakes
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.
What’s behind Arcola’s grade
River and rain flooding is 67% of the building damage FEMA expects in Arcola, and Arcola’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 96% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 10% (higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts).
A+ #4 of 253 in Virginia; among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Arcola’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Virginia town has lower expected damage than 81% of U.S. towns; within the state, Arcola has less expected damage per building than 99% of Virginia towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $201K a year in losses across Arcola: $119K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Arcola flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Arcola. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Arcola isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Loudoun County.The storms Arcola remembers
None of the 12 disasters declared for Loudoun County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Arcola itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Loudoun County has had 12 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Arcola and its neighbors
Arcola has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arcola | A+among the lowest damage | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Brambleton | Aless damage than 93% | river and rain flooding | — |
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 Arcola 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Arcola
Is Arcola at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Arcola has among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #4 of 253 in Virginia. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (67%) and earthquakes (10%). 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 Arcola 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 Loudoun County, 91% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Arcola?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Arcola’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Arcola at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (67%), and Arcola’s rate for it is lower than 96% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Arcola.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Arcola’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.