Amherst County, VA: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Amherst County scores at the 41.6th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Low" — below the national norm for flood hazard. The hazard here is driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1.1 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Amherst County's flood-insurance compliance gap
12.9% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Amherst County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 26 policies against 202 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.3% of all residential structures in Amherst County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Amherst County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Amherst County ranks 1896 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1398 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Amherst County, Virginia covers 473.962 square miles and counts roughly 31,650 residents.
Your street may differ from Amherst County's average
40 of Amherst County's 13,335 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Amherst County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. If you're unsure why any of this insurance requirement exists at all, the SFHA explainer covers it from first principles.