Drought Risk in Virginia

All Virginia counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index drought score

Drought risk — extended dry periods that stress water supplies and agriculture — is rated for 96 of 133 Virginia counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Prince Edward County carries the state's highest drought score at 97.6, with $3M in expected annual drought losses.

20 Virginia counties are rated High or Very High for drought, and expected annual losses from drought total roughly $76M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Drought

#CountyDrought ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Prince Edward County
97.6
High 8.84 / yr $3M
2 Nottoway County
97.2
High 7.30 / yr $3M
3 Cumberland County
96.5
High 8.66 / yr $2M
4 Mecklenburg County
96.1
High 10.32 / yr $2M
5 King and Queen County
95.7
High 3.79 / yr $2M
6 Lancaster County
95.6
High 3.50 / yr $2M
7 Brunswick County
95.1
High 9.40 / yr $2M
8 Amelia County
94.5
High 7.54 / yr $2M
9 Essex County
94.1
High 3.71 / yr $2M
10 Dinwiddie County
94.0
High 6.49 / yr $2M
11 Charles City County
93.3
High 3.82 / yr $2M
12 Charlotte County
93.2
High 8.68 / yr $1M
13 Suffolk City
93.1
High 1.99 / yr $2M
14 Lunenburg County
92.2
High 8.40 / yr $1M
15 Halifax County
92.1
High 10.35 / yr $1M
16 Isle of Wight County
91.9
High 2.27 / yr $2M
17 Powhatan County
91.5
High 6.54 / yr $2M
18 Greensville County
91.5
High 7.74 / yr $1M
19 Northampton County
91.3
High 1.11 / yr $1M
20 Hanover County
91.0
High 4.76 / yr $3M
21 Sussex County
88.5
Medium 5.79 / yr $1M
22 Southampton County
88.0
Medium 3.83 / yr $1M
23 New Kent County
87.9
Medium 3.73 / yr $2M
24 Northumberland County
87.4
Medium 3.60 / yr $938K
25 King William County
86.7
Medium 4.48 / yr $2M
26 James City County
85.3
Medium 2.48 / yr $2M
27 Prince George County
84.6
Medium 5.18 / yr $2M
28 Westmoreland County
84.2
Medium 4.06 / yr $920K
29 Richmond County
83.9
Medium 4.27 / yr $919K
30 Rockingham County
82.2
Medium 3.54 / yr $1M
31 Orange County
82.1
Medium 3.51 / yr $1M
32 Buckingham County
82.1
Medium 8.25 / yr $718K
33 Surry County
81.7
Medium 3.53 / yr $949K
34 Culpeper County
81.0
Medium 2.71 / yr $1M
35 Albemarle County
78.4
Medium 4.39 / yr $875K
36 Middlesex County
78.2
Medium 2.57 / yr $606K
37 Caroline County
78.2
Medium 4.21 / yr $926K
38 Henrico County
77.8
Medium 5.17 / yr $926K
39 Gloucester County
75.5
Medium 2.70 / yr $816K
40 Loudoun County
74.1
Medium 4.06 / yr $1M
41 Pittsylvania County
73.2
Medium 9.81 / yr $440K
42 Frederick County
73.0
Medium 4.14 / yr $874K
43 Nelson County
72.5
Medium 5.48 / yr $490K
44 Augusta County
71.2
Medium 4.49 / yr $516K
45 Bedford County
70.9
Medium 6.04 / yr $583K
46 Goochland County
70.6
Medium 6.28 / yr $701K
47 Pulaski County
68.3
Medium 2.28 / yr $370K
48 Louisa County
68.2
Medium 4.88 / yr $457K
49 Henry County
67.6
Medium 8.76 / yr $294K
50 Franklin County
67.3
Medium 7.82 / yr $362K
51 Wythe County
66.3
Medium 3.00 / yr $316K
52 Page County
65.1
Medium 3.93 / yr $318K
53 Floyd County
64.6
Medium 4.95 / yr $412K
54 Clarke County
64.0
Medium 3.92 / yr $556K
55 Carroll County
62.8
Low 6.58 / yr $232K
56 Patrick County
62.4
Low 9.54 / yr $279K
57 Fluvanna County
62.4
Low 6.22 / yr $358K
58 King George County
62.2
Low 2.81 / yr $479K
59 Highland County
61.7
Low 3.88 / yr $294K
60 Smyth County
61.2
Low 6.40 / yr $229K
61 Grayson County
60.5
Low 9.81 / yr $208K
62 Accomack County
59.8
Low 1.98 / yr $195K
63 Chesterfield County
59.7
Low 5.77 / yr $396K
64 Tazewell County
59.7
Low 2.84 / yr $197K
65 Shenandoah County
59.3
Low 3.71 / yr $240K
66 Rappahannock County
59.0
Low 4.05 / yr $242K
67 Lee County
57.8
Low 11.51 / yr $143K
68 Madison County
57.7
Low 3.75 / yr $263K
69 Montgomery County
56.6
Low 2.36 / yr $247K
70 Warren County
56.0
Low 3.33 / yr $279K
71 Prince William County
54.3
Low 1.74 / yr $274K
72 Greene County
54.3
Low 3.68 / yr $205K
73 Campbell County
53.9
Low 7.63 / yr $171K
74 Stafford County
53.7
Low 2.38 / yr $270K
75 Washington County
53.3
Low 11.94 / yr $153K
76 Bland County
51.0
Low 1.66 / yr $140K
77 Mathews County
48.9
Low 2.66 / yr $100K
78 Russell County
48.5
Low 8.24 / yr $100K
79 Scott County
46.3
Low 11.80 / yr $71K
80 Spotsylvania County
46.1
Low 3.53 / yr $160K
81 Fauquier County
45.3
Low 2.93 / yr $149K
82 Appomattox County
44.7
Low 7.69 / yr $102K
83 Rockbridge County
41.9
Low 3.66 / yr $69K
84 Chesapeake City
40.3
Low 1.10 / yr $87K
85 Amherst County
37.7
Low 6.54 / yr $47K
86 York County
36.7
Low 2.28 / yr $84K
87 Fairfax County
33.3
Low 2.17 / yr $47K
88 Wise County
30.6
Very Low 8.00 / yr $22K
89 Botetourt County
28.9
Very Low 2.59 / yr $28K
90 Alleghany County
26.6
Very Low 1.61 / yr $14K
91 Craig County
24.5
Very Low 1.94 / yr $9K
92 Roanoke County
24.0
Very Low 2.41 / yr $12K
93 Bath County
23.8
Very Low 2.52 / yr $9K
94 Giles County
22.6
Very Low 1.25 / yr $6K
95 Virginia Beach City
22.0
Very Low 0.82 / yr $10K
96 Arlington County
18.0
Very Low 2.47 / yr $3K

96 Virginia counties with measurable drought risk. See the national drought ranking or all Virginia counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Virginia county has the highest drought risk?

Prince Edward County has the highest FEMA drought risk score in Virginia at 97.6 (High), with $3M in expected annual losses and about 8.84 events per year.

How many Virginia counties face significant drought risk?

96 Virginia counties record measurable drought risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 20 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Virginia

Avalanche Coastal Flood Cold Wave Earthquake Hail Heat Wave Hurricane Ice Storm Riverine Flood Landslide Lightning Strong Wind Tornado Wildfire Winter Weather