Bedford County, VA: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Bedford County scores at the 68.3th 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 1.6 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Bedford County
7.7% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Bedford County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 63 policies against 818 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 Bedford County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Bedford County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Bedford County ranks 1040 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 711 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Bedford County, Virginia covers 760.115 square miles and counts roughly 82,182 residents.
Checking a specific address in Bedford County
109 of Bedford County's 35,950 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Bedford 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.