Photo: Mojo Hand · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Urbanna
Urbanna isn’t graded for hazard risk: Urbanna has 495 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 10 claims here since 2003.
What Urbanna faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
Coastal 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.
Does Urbanna flood? Sometimes: 10 flood claims since 2003
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Urbanna, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Isabel6 claims · $238K
- Tropical Storm Ernesto4 claims · $40K
Urbanna isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Middlesex County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Urbanna
Disasters that paid out in Urbanna itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Urbanna), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2003Hurricane Isabel190 households applied for aid$74K aid approved$217K to the Town of Urbanna for repairs6 flood claims paid for it, $238K
Middlesex County has had 19 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.
Old photos of Urbanna after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Urbanna archive →Get ready for what Urbanna faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Urbanna
Does Urbanna flood?
Flood insurance has paid 10 claims in Urbanna since 2003, $278K in all. 2 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Isabel (6).
Is Urbanna 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 Middlesex County, 41% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 4.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Urbanna?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Urbanna’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 Urbanna?
By FEMA money that reached Urbanna, Hurricane Isabel (2003): 190 households applied for aid, $74K approved, and $217K to the Town of Urbanna for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Isabel: 6 paid, $238K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Urbanna.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Urbanna’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.