Washington County, AL flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Washington County sits at the 38.4th national percentile, below the national norm for flood hazard; driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about once every 1 years. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Washington County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Out of 284 homes FEMA counts inside Washington County's mapped flood zone, 8 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 2.8% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.1% of all residential structures in Washington County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Washington County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Washington County ranks 2001 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2097 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 15,018 people live in Washington County, Alabama, spread over 1,080.255 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Washington County
Across all of Washington County's 8,178 residential structures, 9 carry an NFIP policy today — a county-wide count that still can't tell you one address's own mapped zone.
Where Washington 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.