Howell County, MO: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Howell County scores at the 79.6th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Moderate" — a middling flood hazard by national standards. 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 5.4 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.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Howell County
Out of 245 homes FEMA counts inside Howell County's mapped flood zone, 19 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 7.8% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.2% of all residential structures in Howell County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Howell County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Howell County ranks 670 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1178 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Howell County, Missouri covers 927.177 square miles and counts roughly 40,762 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Howell County
FEMA counts 14,989 residential structures in Howell County overall, 24 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Howell 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.