How much flood risk does Surry County actually carry?
Surry County lands at the 42th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Very Low" territory — among the lowest flood hazard in the country — with the hazard driven by coastal storm surge rather than inland rivers — FEMA's model puts a surge event here at about 3.7 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Surry County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Out of 75 homes FEMA counts inside Surry County's mapped flood zone, 26 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 34.7% compliance, short of full coverage. Across all residential structures in Surry County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 1% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Surry County against the rest of the country
Surry County sits at rank 1887 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2696 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Surry County, Virginia is home to about 6,579 people across 278.949 square miles of land.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Surry County
32 of Surry County's 3,178 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Surry County's numbers. Because storm surge plays a real role here, the guide to coastal vs. inland flood hazard is worth reading alongside this page.