Phelps County, NE: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Phelps County scores at the 17th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Very Low" — among the lowest flood hazard in the country. 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 once every 2 years. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Phelps County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Out of 130 homes FEMA counts inside Phelps County's mapped flood zone, 6 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 4.6% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.1% of all residential structures in Phelps County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Phelps County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Phelps County ranks 2645 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2491 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 9,042 people live in Phelps County, Nebraska, spread over 539.765 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Phelps County
FEMA counts 4,955 residential structures in Phelps County overall, 6 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Phelps 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.