Nodaway County, MO: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Nodaway County scores at the 51th 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 1.5 times a year. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Nodaway County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Out of 261 homes FEMA counts inside Nodaway County's mapped flood zone, 4 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 1.5% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.1% of all residential structures in Nodaway County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Nodaway County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Nodaway County ranks 1606 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1800 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Nodaway County, Missouri covers 876.964 square miles and counts roughly 20,503 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Nodaway County
7 of Nodaway County's 14,646 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Nodaway 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.