Clarke County, AL: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Clarke County scores at the 40.4th 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 1.2 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
Out of 116 homes FEMA counts inside Clarke County's mapped flood zone, 23 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 19.8% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.3% of all residential structures in Clarke County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Clarke County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Clarke County ranks 1935 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1714 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Clarke County, Alabama covers 1,238.42 square miles and counts roughly 22,142 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Clarke County
Across all of Clarke County's 9,602 residential structures, 28 carry an NFIP policy today — a county-wide count that still can't tell you one address's own mapped zone.
Where Clarke 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.