Ritchie County, WV: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Ritchie County scores at the 44.4th 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. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Ritchie County
3.2% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Ritchie County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 7 policies against 219 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.4% of all residential structures in Ritchie County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Ritchie County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Ritchie County ranks 1810 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2564 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Ritchie County, West Virginia covers 451.99 square miles and counts roughly 8,170 residents.
Your street may differ from Ritchie County's average
23 of Ritchie County's 5,233 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Ritchie 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.