Is Otoe County, NE in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Otoe County's flood hazard at the 21.1th percentile nationally — among the lowest flood hazard in the country — driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 2 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.
Otoe County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Otoe County's mapped high-risk flood zone (the Special Flood Hazard Area, or SFHA) are legally required to carry an NFIP flood policy. In practice, 5% of them do — 11 active policies against 221 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Otoe County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.2% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
How Otoe County compares nationally
Otoe County sits at rank 2523 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2000 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Otoe County, Nebraska is home to about 16,591 people across 615.618 square miles of land.
Checking a specific address in Otoe County
15 of Otoe County's 9,324 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Otoe County's numbers. The guide to what the Special Flood Hazard Area actually means explains why the mandatory-insurance rule exists and who it applies to.