Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, New Baltimore faces less hazard damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, New Baltimore gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns, #185 of 253 in Virginia. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). 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 New Baltimore 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
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 New Baltimore’s grade
River and rain flooding is 87% of the building damage FEMA expects in New Baltimore, and New Baltimore’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ #185 of 253 in Virginia; lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns (21,298).
New Baltimore’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, New Baltimore has more expected damage per building than 73% of Virginia towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.2M a year in losses across New Baltimore: $2.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does New Baltimore flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in New Baltimore. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
New Baltimore isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Fauquier County.The storms New Baltimore remembers
None of the 17 disasters declared for Fauquier County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching New Baltimore itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Fauquier County has had 17 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.
Get ready for what New Baltimore 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.
- 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 New Baltimore
Is New Baltimore at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, New Baltimore has lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #185 of 253 in Virginia. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is New Baltimore 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 Fauquier County, 7% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in New Baltimore?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for New Baltimore’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is New Baltimore at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (87%), and New Baltimore’s rate for it is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in New Baltimore.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where New Baltimore’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.