Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Chantilly 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, Chantilly gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns, #195 of 253 in Virginia. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2005.
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 Chantilly 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 Chantilly’s grade
River and rain flooding is 85% of the building damage FEMA expects in Chantilly, and Chantilly’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 64% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 8% (higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts).
B #195 of 253 in Virginia; lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Chantilly’s residents live in 9 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, Chantilly has more expected damage per building than 77% of Virginia towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $6.3M a year in losses across Chantilly: $5.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Chantilly flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 2005
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Chantilly, from FEMA’s records: 0.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 89% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Chantilly 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 Chantilly remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Fairfax County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Chantilly itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20112 flood claims paidThe year of The Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Fairfax County
- 20051 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20251 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 Chantilly after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Chantilly archive →Chantilly and its neighbors
Chantilly is 5th of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sully Square | A+among the lowest damage | river and rain flooding | — |
| Navy | A−less damage than 76% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Franklin Farm | A−less damage than 76% | river and rain flooding | 9 |
| Greenbriar | B+less damage than 71% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Chantilly | Bless damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Centreville | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 12 |
| Bull Run | Cmore damage than 71% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
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 Chantilly 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 Chantilly
Is Chantilly at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Chantilly has lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #195 of 253 in Virginia. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%) and hurricanes (8%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Chantilly flood?
Flood insurance has paid 4 claims in Chantilly since 2005, $37K in all, or 0.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 89% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Chantilly 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 Chantilly?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Chantilly’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Chantilly at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (85%), and Chantilly’s rate for it is higher than 64% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Chantilly.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Chantilly’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.