Braxton County, WV: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Braxton County scores at the 63.6th 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 1.8 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
4.6% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Braxton County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 29 policies against 629 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.5% of all residential structures in Braxton County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Braxton County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Braxton County ranks 1196 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2279 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Braxton County, West Virginia is home to about 12,051 people across 510.735 square miles of land.
Your street may differ from Braxton County's average
FEMA counts 7,614 residential structures in Braxton County overall, 38 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Braxton 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.