FEMA puts Dooms’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 67% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dooms gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%). Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 1979.
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 Dooms 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 Dooms’ grade
River and rain flooding is 84% of the building damage FEMA expects in Dooms, and Dooms’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 7% (higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts).
B+ lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Dooms’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $313K a year in losses across Dooms: $218K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Dooms flood? Rarely: 7 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Dooms, from FEMA’s records: 11.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 76% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Fran2 claims · $58K
- Hurricane Isabel1 claim · $75K
- The October severe storms1 claim · $16K
Dooms isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Augusta County.The storms Dooms remembers
None of the 21 disasters declared for Augusta County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Dooms itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19963 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Fran and Associated Severe Storm Cond, declared for Augusta County
- 19791 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19981 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Augusta County has had 21 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.
Old photos of Dooms after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Dooms archive →Dooms and its neighbors
Dooms has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dooms | B+less damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
| Waynesboro | B−more damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 293 |
| Crimora | C+more damage than 55% | 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 Dooms 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 Dooms
Is Dooms at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dooms has lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%) and hurricanes (7%). 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.
Does Dooms flood?
Flood insurance has paid 7 claims in Dooms since 1979, $206K in all, or 11.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 76% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Fran (2).
Is Dooms 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 Augusta County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Dooms?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Dooms’ 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 Dooms?
By flood claims, Hurricane Fran: 2 paid, $58K.
Is Dooms at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (84%), and Dooms’ rate for it is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dooms.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Dooms’ 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.