Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Mason Neck

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Wetlands in Mason Neck SP, Virginia - 1Photo: Jarek Tuszyński · CC BY-SA 3.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Mason Neck · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Mason Neck faces less hazard damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mason Neck gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%), then coastal flooding (10%). Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 2003.

River and rain flooding 76%Coastal flooding 10%Hurricanes 7%

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

less than 70%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in Virginia · lower than 70% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
76% of expected building damage
Flood claims
6
paid since 2003 · $101K
Flood claims per home
8 per 1,000
more than 70% of U.S. towns

What stands out about Mason Neck’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 70% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Coastal flooding: the top 2% of U.S. tractsFEMA’s building-damage rate for coastal flooding here ranks in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts; it is 10.4% of the damage it expects.
By hazard

What Mason Neck 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

76%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Coastal flooding

10%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts

Hurricanes

7%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 12 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Hail Strong wind Tornadoes Ice storms Wildfire Winter storms Cold waves Lightning Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Mason Neck’s grade

River and rain flooding is 76% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mason Neck, and Mason Neck’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 10%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Mason Neck sits
Mason Neck
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Mason Neck’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding76%Coastal flooding10%Hurricanes7%Everything else7%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $690K a year in losses across Mason Neck: $607K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Mason Neck’s 2,025 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Mason Neck flood? Rarely: 6 flood claims since 2003

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Mason Neck, from FEMA’s records: 8.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 70% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2003: 2 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 3 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 1 claim2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200320112020
20032026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Isabel2 claims · $27K
6
paid claims since 2003
$101K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$17K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Mason Neck isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Fairfax County.
Disasters

The storms Mason Neck remembers

None of the 16 disasters declared for Fairfax County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Mason Neck itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20113 flood claims paidThe year of The Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Fairfax County
  2. 20032 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Isabel, declared for Fairfax County
  3. 20201 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Mason NeckFairfax County only

Fairfax County has had 16 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Mason Neck after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Mason Neck archive →
Next door

Mason Neck and its neighbors

Mason Neck is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Lorton: hazard risk B−Woodbridge: hazard risk ALortonWoodbridgeMason Neck
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WoodbridgeAless damage than 93%river and rain flooding59
Mason NeckB+less damage than 70%river and rain flooding6
LortonB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding4

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Mason Neck faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the tide surges
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Mason Neck

Is Mason Neck at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mason Neck has lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%) and coastal flooding (10%). 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 Mason Neck flood?

Flood insurance has paid 6 claims in Mason Neck since 2003, $101K in all, or 8.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 70% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Isabel (2).

Is Mason Neck 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 Fairfax County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Mason Neck?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Mason Neck’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 Mason Neck?

By flood claims, Hurricane Isabel: 2 paid, $27K.

Is Mason Neck at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (76%), and Mason Neck’s rate for it is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mason Neck.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Mason Neck’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.