On FEMA’s figures, Lake Monticello 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, Lake Monticello gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns, #200 of 253 in Virginia. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%), then hurricanes (10%). 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 Lake Monticello 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
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 Lake Monticello’s grade
River and rain flooding is 75% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lake Monticello, and Lake Monticello’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 10% (higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts).
B #200 of 253 in Virginia; lower expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Lake Monticello’s residents live in 3 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, Lake Monticello has more expected damage per building than 79% of Virginia towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.0M a year in losses across Lake Monticello: $1.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lake Monticello flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lake Monticello. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lake Monticello isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Fluvanna County.The storms Lake Monticello remembers
None of the 20 disasters declared for Fluvanna County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lake Monticello itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Fluvanna County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Get ready for what Lake Monticello 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.
- 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 Lake Monticello
Is Lake Monticello at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lake Monticello has lower expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #200 of 253 in Virginia. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%) and hurricanes (10%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Lake Monticello 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 Fluvanna County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lake Monticello?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lake Monticello’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Lake Monticello at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (75%), and Lake Monticello’s rate for it is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lake Monticello.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lake Monticello’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.