Buchanan County, VA flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Buchanan County sits at the 70.2th national percentile, below the national norm for flood hazard; driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1.9 times a year. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Buchanan County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Out of 1,086 homes FEMA counts inside Buchanan County's mapped flood zone, 85 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 7.8% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 1.5% of all residential structures in Buchanan County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Buchanan County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Buchanan County ranks 978 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1896 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 18,632 people live in Buchanan County, Virginia, spread over 502.855 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Buchanan County
FEMA counts 8,086 residential structures in Buchanan County overall, 119 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Buchanan 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.