Buena Vista (city), Virginia

What hazards hit Buena Vista (city) most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 18 since 1982. Census land area gives no figure for Buena Vista (city) under this code, so it carries no per-area rank.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

When was the last damaging storm in Buena Vista (city)?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the February 16, 2025 high wind ($25,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Buena Vista (city)'s most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

Records by month in Buena Vista (city). The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Buena Vista (city)

FEMA's register lists 20 declarations that include Buena Vista (city): 14 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (6) and hurricane (5).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Buena Vista (city) had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 2 flood or flash flood records for Buena Vista (city) from 2004 to 2018, on 2 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Buena Vista (city) ranks 794th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4.0 million on 276 claims filed in Buena Vista (city); the most in one year was 95 in 1995. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Buena Vista (city)

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Buena Vista (city) Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $2.4 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Buena Vista (city)

1. Rockbridge County 560
2. Buena Vista (city) 42

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Severe thunderstorm wind in VirginiaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Virginia recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Buena Vista (city)The hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Buena Vista (city)'s FEMA declarations (CSV)20 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis