Is Ottawa County, KS in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Ottawa County's flood hazard at the 24th 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 1.2 times a year. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Ottawa 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, 8.2% of them do — 35 active policies against 427 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Ottawa County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 1.5% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Ottawa County against the rest of the country
Ottawa County sits at rank 2432 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2743 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Ottawa County, Kansas covers 720.73 square miles and counts roughly 5,853 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Ottawa County
Across all of Ottawa County's 2,520 residential structures, 38 carry an NFIP policy today — a county-wide count that still can't tell you one address's own mapped zone.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Ottawa 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.