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B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Rushmere · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Rushmere faces less hazard damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rushmere gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (55%), then hurricanes (29%). Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1994.

River and rain flooding 55%Hurricanes 29%Coastal flooding 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 69%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 69% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
55% of expected building damage
Flood claims
12
paid since 1994 · $374K
Flood claims per home
19 per 1,000
more than 83% of U.S. towns

What stands out about Rushmere’s natural hazards

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

Lower expected damage than 69% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Coastal flooding: the top 3% of U.S. tractsFEMA’s building-damage rate for coastal flooding here ranks in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts; it is 7.2% of the damage it expects.
By hazard

What Rushmere 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

55%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 1 years in the area

Hurricanes

29%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Coastal flooding

7%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Ice storms Hail Strong wind Wildfire Lightning Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts drought at 13% of Rushmere’s expected losses. Drought does little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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 Rushmere’s grade

River and rain flooding is 55% of the building damage FEMA expects in Rushmere, and Rushmere’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 7%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Rushmere sits
Rushmere
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding55%Hurricanes29%Coastal flooding7%Everything else9%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $461K a year in losses across Rushmere: $313K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Rushmere’s 1,175 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 Rushmere flood? Sometimes: 12 flood claims since 1994

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Rushmere, from FEMA’s records: 19.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 83% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1994: 1 claim1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 1 claim1999: 1 claim2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 7 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 1 claim2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199419982003
19942026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Isabel6 claims · $324K
  • Hurricane Floyd1 claim · $1K
  • Hurricane Irene1 claim · $782
12
paid claims since 1994
$374K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$31K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Isle of Wight County.
Disasters

The storms Rushmere remembers

None of the 15 disasters declared for Isle of Wight County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Rushmere itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20037 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Isabel, declared for Isle of Wight County
  2. 19941 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  3. 19981 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in RushmereIsle of Wight County only

Isle of Wight 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Rushmere archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Rushmere 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 ↗
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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Rushmere

Is Rushmere at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rushmere has lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (55%) and hurricanes (29%). 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 Rushmere flood?

Flood insurance has paid 12 claims in Rushmere since 1994, $374K in all, or 19.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 83% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Isabel (6).

Is Rushmere 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 Isle of Wight County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Rushmere?

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

By flood claims, Hurricane Isabel: 6 paid, $324K.

Is Rushmere at risk from river and rain flooding?

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

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rushmere.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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