Monroe County, WV: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Monroe County scores at the 49.3th 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 1.3 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Monroe County
4.4% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Monroe County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 17 policies against 387 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.3% of all residential structures in Monroe County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Monroe County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Monroe County ranks 1656 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2253 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 12,462 people live in Monroe County, West Virginia, spread over 472.754 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Monroe County
Across all of Monroe County's 8,196 residential structures, 22 carry an NFIP policy today — a county-wide count that still can't tell you one address's own mapped zone.
Where Monroe 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.