Patrick County, VA: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Patrick County scores at the 42.3th 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 1.6 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Patrick County's flood-insurance compliance gap
4% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Patrick County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 5 policies against 124 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.2% of all residential structures in Patrick County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Patrick County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Patrick County ranks 1877 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1960 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Patrick County, Virginia is home to about 17,308 people across 482.957 square miles of land.
Your street may differ from Patrick County's average
FEMA counts 7,764 residential structures in Patrick County overall, 12 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Patrick 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.