Photo: Matthew W. King · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Gloucester Courthouse faces less hazard damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Gloucester Courthouse gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns, #110 of 253 in Virginia. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (58%), then hurricanes (18%). 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 stands out about Gloucester Courthouse’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Gloucester Courthouse 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
Coastal flooding
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 Gloucester Courthouse’s grade
River and rain flooding is 58% of the building damage FEMA expects in Gloucester Courthouse, and Gloucester Courthouse’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 83% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 12%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
A− #110 of 253 in Virginia; lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Gloucester Courthouse’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, Gloucester Courthouse has less expected damage per building than 57% of Virginia towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $919K a year in losses across Gloucester Courthouse: $682K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Gloucester Courthouse flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Gloucester Courthouse. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Gloucester Courthouse isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Gloucester County.The storms Gloucester Courthouse remembers
None of the 15 disasters declared for Gloucester County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Gloucester Courthouse itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Gloucester County has had 15 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.
Get ready for what Gloucester Courthouse 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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 Gloucester Courthouse
Is Gloucester Courthouse at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Gloucester Courthouse has lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #110 of 253 in Virginia. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (58%) and hurricanes (18%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Gloucester Courthouse 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 Gloucester County, 61% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 8.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Gloucester Courthouse?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Gloucester Courthouse’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Gloucester Courthouse at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (58%), and Gloucester Courthouse’s rate for it is lower than 83% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Gloucester Courthouse.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Gloucester Courthouse’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.