Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Crewe faces less hazard damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Crewe gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%), then hurricanes (29%). 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 Crewe 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
Earthquakes
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 Crewe’s grade
River and rain flooding is 52% of the building damage FEMA expects in Crewe, and Crewe’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 93% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 29% (higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts).
A lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Crewe’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $652K a year in losses across Crewe: $240K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Crewe flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Crewe. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Crewe isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Nottoway County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Crewe
Disasters that paid out in Crewe itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Crewe), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Winter Storms and Flooding$3K to the Town of Crewe for repairs
- 2021Severe Winter Storms$54K to the Town of Crewe for repairs
- 2003Hurricane Isabel80 households applied for aid$38K aid approved$9K to the Town of Crewe for repairs
Nottoway County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Crewe after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Crewe archive →Get ready for what Crewe 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Crewe
Is Crewe at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Crewe has lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%) and hurricanes (29%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Crewe 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 Nottoway County, 33% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Crewe?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Crewe’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 Crewe?
By FEMA money that reached Crewe, Severe Winter Storms (2021): $54K to the Town of Crewe for repairs.
Is Crewe at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (52%), and Crewe’s rate for it is lower than 93% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Crewe.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Crewe’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.