Gallatin County, IL flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Gallatin County sits at the 36th 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 5.7 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
6.7% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Gallatin County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 23 policies against 342 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.8% of all residential structures in Gallatin County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Gallatin County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Gallatin County ranks 2076 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2840 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Gallatin County, Illinois covers 322.942 square miles and counts roughly 4,690 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Gallatin County
Across all of Gallatin County's 2,988 residential structures, 25 carry an NFIP policy today — a county-wide count that still can't tell you one address's own mapped zone.
Where Gallatin 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.