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AHazard risk
Natural hazards in Cave Spring · FEMA

FEMA puts Cave Spring’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cave Spring gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns, #65 of 253 in Virginia. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). Flood insurance has paid 64 claims here since 1978.

River and rain flooding 86%Hurricanes 4%Earthquakes 3%

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

less than 90%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#65 of 253 in Virginia
Hazard risk
A#65 of 253
in Virginia · lower than 90% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
86% of expected building damage
Flood claims
64
paid since 1978 · $1.3M
Flood claims per home
5 per 1,000
more than 62% of U.S. towns

What stands out about Cave Spring’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 90% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Remembers 201831 flood claims were paid for 2018 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Cave Spring 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

86%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Earthquakes Strong wind Tornadoes Hail Lightning Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Cold waves Landslides Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Cave Spring’s grade

River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Cave Spring, and Cave Spring’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Cave Spring sits
Cave Spring
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A #65 of 253 in Virginia; lower expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Cave Spring’s residents live in 7 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding86%Hurricanes4%Earthquakes3%Everything else6%

The typical Virginia town has lower expected damage than 81% of U.S. towns; within the state, Cave Spring has less expected damage per building than 75% of Virginia towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $4.7M a year in losses across Cave Spring: $3.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A firm figure. It combines 7 census tracts by where Cave Spring’s residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Cave Spring flood? Sometimes: 64 flood claims since 1978

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Cave Spring, from FEMA’s records: 5.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 62% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1978: 2 claims1979: 1 claim1980: 0 claims1981: 1 claim1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 12 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 1 claim1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 8 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 5 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 2 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 31 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 1 claim2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims198519962018
19782026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Michael11 claims · $525K
  • Tropical Storm Ivan5 claims · $35K
  • Hurricane Fran3 claims · $36K
64
paid claims since 1978
$1.3M
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$21K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Cave Spring isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Roanoke County.
Disasters

The storms Cave Spring remembers

None of the 20 disasters declared for Roanoke County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Cave Spring itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 201831 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Michael, declared for Roanoke County
  2. 198512 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Roanoke County
  3. 19968 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Fran and Associated Severe Storm Cond, declared for Roanoke County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Cave SpringRoanoke County only

Roanoke County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Cave Spring after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Cave Spring archive →
Next door

Cave Spring and its neighbors

Cave Spring has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Roanoke: hazard risk B+Salem: hazard risk B−RoanokeSalemCave Spring
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Cave SpringAless damage than 90%river and rain flooding64
RoanokeB+less damage than 74%river and rain flooding929
SalemB−less damage than 54%river and rain flooding638

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Cave Spring faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Cave Spring

Is Cave Spring at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cave Spring has lower expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #65 of 253 in Virginia. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Cave Spring flood?

Flood insurance has paid 64 claims in Cave Spring since 1978, $1.3M in all, or 5.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 62% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Michael (11).

Is Cave Spring 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 Roanoke County, 33% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Cave Spring?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cave Spring’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 Cave Spring?

By flood claims, Hurricane Michael: 11 paid, $525K.

Is Cave Spring at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Cave Spring’s rate for it is lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cave Spring.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cave Spring’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.