Photo: User:AlbertHerring · CC BY 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Belle Haven faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Belle Haven gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns, #218 of 253 in Virginia. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). Flood insurance has paid 108 claims here since 1982.
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 stands out about Belle Haven’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Belle Haven 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
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 Belle Haven’s grade
River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Belle Haven, and Belle Haven’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 1%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
B− #218 of 253 in Virginia; higher expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Belle Haven’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Virginia town has lower expected damage than 81% of U.S. towns; within the state, Belle Haven has more expected damage per building than 86% of Virginia towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.2M a year in losses across Belle Haven: $1.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Belle Haven flood? Yes: 108 flood claims since 1982
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Belle Haven, from FEMA’s records: 35.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 90% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Isabel95 claims · $4.4M
- Hurricane Irene1 claim · $12K
Belle Haven isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Fairfax County.The storms Belle Haven remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Fairfax County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Belle Haven itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 200395 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Isabel, declared for Fairfax County
- 19853 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20192 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Fairfax County has had 16 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.
Old photos of Belle Haven after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Belle Haven archive →Belle Haven and its neighbors
Belle Haven is 3rd of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groveton | B+less damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | 13 |
| Alexandria | Bless damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 298 |
| Belle Haven | B−more damage than 51% | river and rain flooding | 108 |
| Huntington | B−more damage than 52% | river and rain flooding | 194 |
| Fort Hunt | C+more damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 36 |
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 Belle Haven 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.
- 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 Belle Haven
Is Belle Haven at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Belle Haven has higher expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #218 of 253 in Virginia. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and hurricanes (6%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Belle Haven flood?
Flood insurance has paid 108 claims in Belle Haven since 1982, $4.6M in all, or 35.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 90% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Isabel (95).
Is Belle Haven 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 Fairfax County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Belle Haven?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Belle Haven’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 Belle Haven?
By flood claims, Hurricane Isabel: 95 paid, $4.4M.
Is Belle Haven at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Belle Haven’s rate for it is higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Belle Haven.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Belle Haven’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.