How much flood risk does Roane County actually carry?
Roane County lands at the 69.2th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively Low" territory — below the national norm for flood hazard — with the hazard driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 2.3 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Roane County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Roane 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, 10.6% of them do — 65 active policies against 614 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Roane County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 1.3% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Roane County against the rest of the country
Roane County sits at rank 1010 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2184 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 13,540 people live in Roane County, West Virginia, spread over 483.563 square miles.
Your street may differ from Roane County's average
FEMA counts 6,673 residential structures in Roane County overall, 87 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Roane 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.