Richmond County, VA: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Richmond County scores at the 48.2th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Low" — below the national norm for flood hazard. The hazard here is driven by coastal storm surge rather than inland rivers — FEMA's model puts a surge event here at about 3.7 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.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Richmond 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, 37.8% of them do — 48 active policies against 127 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 1.5% of all residential structures in Richmond County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Richmond County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Richmond County ranks 1693 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2470 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Richmond County, Virginia is home to about 9,215 people across 191.478 square miles of land.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Richmond County
59 of Richmond County's 3,983 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Richmond County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. Richmond County's coastal exposure is covered in the coastal vs. inland flood risk guide, including how storm surge risk differs from river flooding.