Zapata County, TX: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Zapata County scores at the 19.9th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Very Low" — among the lowest flood hazard in the country. 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 1.1 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Zapata County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Zapata 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, 4.4% of them do — 24 active policies against 546 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.5% of all residential structures in Zapata County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Zapata County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Zapata County ranks 2561 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2172 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Zapata County, Texas is home to about 13,819 people across 998.415 square miles of land.
Checking a specific address in Zapata County
30 of Zapata County's 5,682 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Zapata 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.