Photo: Duane Lempke · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Tysons faces less hazard damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Tysons gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, #8 of 253 in Virginia. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%), then hurricanes (16%). Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 2008.
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 Tysons 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 Tysons’ grade
River and rain flooding is 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Tysons, and Tysons’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 89% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 16% (higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts).
A+ #8 of 253 in Virginia; lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Tysons’ residents live in 11 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, Tysons has less expected damage per building than 97% of Virginia towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $5.0M a year in losses across Tysons: $4.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Tysons flood? Rarely: 8 flood claims since 2008
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Tysons, from FEMA’s records: 0.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 89% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Tysons 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.The storms Tysons remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Fairfax County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Tysons itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20182 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Florence, declared for Fairfax County
- 20081 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20111 flood claims paidThe year of The Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Fairfax County
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.
Old photos of Tysons after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Tysons archive →Tysons and its neighbors
Tysons has the lowest expected damage per building of the 7 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tysons | A+less damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 8 |
| Idylwood | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 8 |
| Pimmit Hills | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
| McLean | Aless damage than 85% | river and rain flooding | 57 |
| Dunn Loring | A−less damage than 82% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Vienna | A−less damage than 81% | river and rain flooding | 14 |
| Wolf Trap | A−less damage than 81% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
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.
Get ready for what Tysons 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 Tysons
Is Tysons at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Tysons has lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #8 of 253 in Virginia. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%) and hurricanes (16%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Tysons flood?
Flood insurance has paid 8 claims in Tysons since 2008, $41K in all, or 0.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 89% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Tysons 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 Tysons?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Tysons’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Tysons at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Tysons’ rate for it is lower than 89% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Tysons.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Tysons’ 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.