Photo: Dclemens1971 · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Ivy
Ivy isn’t graded for hazard risk: Ivy has 794 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1979.
What Ivy 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.
Does Ivy flood? Rarely: 9 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Ivy, from FEMA’s records.
Ivy isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Albemarle County.The storms Ivy remembers
None of the 21 disasters declared for Albemarle County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Ivy itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20185 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Florence, declared for Albemarle County
- 19791 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19871 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Albemarle 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.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Albemarle County, 2001–2001.
Old photos of Ivy after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Ivy archive →Get ready for what Ivy 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 Ivy
Does Ivy flood?
Flood insurance has paid 9 claims in Ivy since 1979, $167K in all.
Is Ivy 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 Albemarle County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Ivy?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ivy’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ivy.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ivy’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.