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Flood history · Portsmouth, VA 23707

Flood insurance claims in Portsmouth, VA 23707

367 claims since 1978 and $3.0 million paid. Here's what the public record shows, and how to check a specific address.

367flood insurance claims since 1978
$3.0 millionpaid to policyholders
$10,861average paid claim
14claims in the last 10 years
24%of claims outside high-risk zones
#25of 741 Virginia ZIP codes by claims

Claims by year

Every NFIP flood insurance claim reported in ZIP 23707 since 1978.

1978: 2 claims1980: 1 claims1981: 1 claims1985: 1 claims1987: 1 claims1988: 1 claims1997: 1 claims1998: 11 claims1999: 42 claims2002: 1 claims2003: 86 claims2006: 4 claims2008: 2 claims2009: 96 claims2010: 2 claims2011: 34 claims2012: 6 claims2014: 11 claims2015: 4 claims2016: 46 claims2017: 1 claims2018: 1 claims2020: 5 claims2021: 1 claims2022: 1 claims2023: 2 claims2025: 1 claims2026: 2 claims19801990200020102020

What the record says

76% of claims were on properties in high-risk zones and 24% outside them.

Losses are spread across many events; the largest, November 2009 Nor'easter, accounts for 25% of claims.

14 claims were filed in the last 10 years.

The most commonly recorded cause is heavy rain or snowmelt collecting faster than it drains, which can happen far from any river or coast.

Portsmouth, City Of takes part in FEMA's Community Rating System (class 7), which can lower flood insurance premiums by up to 15% in high-risk zones.

Biggest flood events

EventYearClaimsShare
November 2009 Nor'easter20099225%
Hurricane Isabel20038623%
Hurricane Floyd19994011%
Hurricane Irene2011339%
Hurricane Matthew2016339%
Unnamed flooding1998113%

Flood zone at time of claim

High-risk zones (A, V)76% · 279
Moderate or minimal risk (X, B, C)24% · 88

NFIP communities

Portsmouth, City OfCRS class 7 · up to 15% off

Federal disaster declarations in Portsmouth (city) County

Flood, hurricane and storm declarations since 2000.

Hurricane FlorenceHurricane · Emergency · 2018-09-11
Hurricane MatthewHurricane · Major disaster · 2016-11-02
Hurricane SandyHurricane · Emergency · 2012-10-29
Hurricane IreneHurricane · Major disaster · 2011-09-03
Hurricane IreneHurricane · Emergency · 2011-08-26
Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Ida And A Nor'EastSevere Storm · Major disaster · 2009-12-09

8 flood, storm or hurricane declarations for Portsmouth (city) County since 2000.

Check a specific address in Portsmouth.

ZIP-level history is the backdrop. See the official FEMA flood zone, ground elevation and next steps for one property, free.

Sources: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims (v3) and Disaster Declarations Summaries, FEMA NFIP Community Status Book; place names from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Data as of 2026-10-09. Payments are net building + contents payments in dollars at the time paid, not adjusted for inflation. Claims are grouped by the ZIP code reported on the claim. This product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API but is not endorsed by FEMA. Information only; not an official flood zone determination or insurance advice.

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