Lincoln County

WV PDC Region: 2

(County Scale, All Risk Indicators Report)

June 2025

Cumulative Flood Risk Score

85.1% Very High

Ranks 9th of 55 counties in the state

5 of 25 risk indicators among the top 10% counties.
8 of 25 risk indicators among the top 20% counties.

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Noteworthy Flood Risk Facts for Lincoln County

Table 1. Noteworthy Flood Risk Facts: A Cumulative Flood Risk Index of 25 flood factors reveals that Lincoln County ranks 9th of 55 counties in the state with a Cumulative Flood Risk Score of 85.1%. Below are all 25 flood risk indicators used in the risk index. Click on the More Info link for rationale and recommendations of each indicator.

Risk Indicator	Description	More Info	Supplementary External Links
Floodplain Area	11,311 acres of high-risk floodplain.	Click for more information.	Floodplain Area by County
Floodplain Length	393.4 miles of high-risk floodplain.	Click for more information.	Floodplain Length by County
Flood Declared Disasters	27 flood declared disasters since 1953.	Click for more information.	Federally-Declared Flood Disasters by County Federally-Declared Flood Disasters by County
Flood Depth Median	3.0 feet median base flood depth.	Click for more information.	Media Flood Depth by County (FEMA 1% Flood) Media Flood Depth by County (FEMA 1% Flood) Percent Rank Classification
Building Floodplain Count	2,556 buildings in a high-risk flood zone.	Click for more information.	Building Count in SFHA by County Building Count in SFHA by County (Percent Rank Classification)
Building Floodway Count	140 buildings in the regulatory floodway or main river channel.	Click for more information.	Floodway Building Count by County Floodway Building Count by County (Percent Rank Classification) Floodway Building Ratio by County
Building Floodplain Ratio	21.3% of floodplain buildings to total buildings.	Click for more information.	Floodplain Building Ratio by County
Building Density	0.23 buildings/acre density in floodplain.	Click for more information.	Building Density in SFHA by County
Building Median Value	$25,300 median building value in floodplain.	Click for more information.	Building Exposure Low Values <= $10K by County
Bldg. Mobile Homes Ratio	40.0% of single-family dwellings in floodplain are manufactured homes.	Click for more information.	Mobile Homes Ratio by County
Bldg. Subgrade Basements Ratio	10.4% of floodplain buildings have subgrade basements.	Click for more information.	Building Subgrade Basement Ratio by County Building Subgrade Basement Ratio by County (Percent Rank)
Building 1-Story Ratio	94.5% of floodplain buildings have only one story.	Click for more information.	Building One-Story Ratio by County Building One-Story Ratio by County (Percent Rank)
Bldg. Year Pre-FIRM Ratio	66.7% of floodplain buildings are Pre-FIRM or built with no FIRM in effect.	Click for more information.	Building Year Pre-FIRM Ratio by County Building Year Pre-FIRM Ratio by County (Percent Rank)
Bldg. Year Minus Rated Post-FIRM Ratio	4.4% of floodplain buildings are Post-FIRM with lowest floor below BFE.	Click for more information.	Building Year Post-FIRM Minus-Rated Building Ratio by County Building Year Post-FIRM Minus-Rated Building Ratio by County (Percent Rank)
Essential Facilities	7 essential facilities in moderate and high risk floodplains.	Click for more information.	Essential Facilities in High-Moderate Risk Floodplain by County
Roads Inundated Ratio	8.2% of roads flooded by a 1% annual chance (100-yr) major flood.	Click for more information.	Roads Inundated Ratio for 1% Flood by County
Community Assets Historical	1 historical assets in floodplain.	Click for more information.	Historical Community Assets Density Statewide
Community Assets Non-Historical	56 non-historical assets in floodplain.	Click for more information.	Non-Historical Community Assets Count by Community
Bldg. Substantial Damage Count	123 bldgs. substantially damaged by a 1% annual chance (100-yr) flood.	Click for more information.	Building Substantial Damage Debris Removal Estimates by County (1% Flood) Building Substantial Damage Count by County (1% Flood) Building Substantial Damage Count by County (1% Flood) (Percent Rank)
Bldg. Substantial Damage Ratio	4.8% of buildings in floodplain substantially damaged by major storm.	Click for more information.	Building Substantial Damage to Total SFHA Structures Ratio by County (1% Flood) Building Substantial Damage to Total SFHA Structures Ratio by County (1% Flood) (Percent Rank)
Bldg. Previous Damage Claims	350 buildings have prior damage claims.	Click for more information.	Building Damage Claims Number by County (Natural Break) Building Damage Claims Number by County (Percent Rank)
Bldg. Repetitive Loss Structures	123 repetitive loss structures.	Click for more information.
Population in Floodplain Ratio	31.6% of the population resides in a high-risk flood zone.	Click for more information.	Population Ratio by County Population Ratio by County (Percent Rank)
Population Displaced Ratio	8.8% of population displaced by a 1% annual chance (100-yr) flood event.	Click for more information.	Population Estimated Requiring Short-Term Shelter by County (1% Flood)
WV Social Vulnerability Index	83.3% index score of WV Social Vulnerability.	Click for more information.	Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) by County (Percent Rank) CDC SVI by County
Cumulative Index	85.1% cumulative risk index score.	Click for more information.	Cumulative Risk Index by County

Flood Risk Index Scores for Lincoln County

Table 2. Flood Risk Index Scores: A Cumulative Flood Risk Index of 25 flood factors reveals that Lincoln County ranks 9th of 55 counties in the state with a Cumulative Flood Risk Score of 85.1%. Below are all 25 flood risk indicators used in the risk index with the indicator scores and rankings.

Category	Flood Risk Indicator	Value for Lincoln	Indicator Score (0 - 100%)	Indicator Rating
Floodplain Characteristics	Floodplain Area Click for more information.	11,311 Acres	77.7%	Relatively High
	Floodplain Length Click for more information.	393.4 Miles	77.7%	Relatively High
	Flood Declared Disasters Click for more information.	27	96.2%	VERY HIGH
	Flood Depth Median Click for more information.	3.0 Ft	74.0%	Relatively High
	Floodplain Characteristics Index, 3rd		96.2%	VERY HIGH
Building Exposure	Building Floodplain Count Click for more information.	2,556	85.1%	Very High
	Building Floodway Count Click for more information.	140	66.6%	Relatively High
	Building Floodplain Ratio Click for more information.	21.3%	98.1%	VERY HIGH
	Building Density Click for more information.	0.23 /Acre	74.0%	Relatively High
	Building Exposure Index, 8th		87.0%	Very High
Building Characteristics	Building Median Value Click for more information.	$25,300	5.5%	Very Low
	Bldg. Mobile Homes Ratio Click for more information.	40.0%	92.5%	VERY HIGH
	Bldg. Subgrade Basements Ratio Click for more information.	10.4%	0.0%	Very Low
	Building 1-Story Ratio Click for more information.	94.5%	98.1%	VERY HIGH
	Bldg. Year Pre-FIRM Ratio Click for more information.	66.7%	14.8%	Very Low
	Bldg. Year Minus Rated Post-FIRM Ratio Click for more information.	4.4%	44.4%	Moderate
	Building Characteristics Index, 46th		11.1%	Very Low
Critical Infrastructure	Essential Facilities Click for more information.	7	53.7%	Moderate
	Roads Inundated Ratio Click for more information.	8.2%	75.9%	Relatively High
	Critical Infrastructure Index, 15th		74.0%	Relatively High
Community Assets	Community Assets Historical Click for more information.	1	12.9%	Very Low
	Community Assets Non-Historical Click for more information.	56	81.4%	Very High
	Community Assets Index, 32nd		42.5%	Moderate
Building Damage Loss	Bldg. Substantial Damage Count Click for more information.	123	72.2%	Relatively High
	Bldg. Substantial Damage Ratio Click for more information.	4.8%	33.3%	Relatively Low
	Bldg. Previous Damage Claims Click for more information.	350	50.0%	Moderate
	Bldg. Repetitive Loss Structures Click for more information.	123	48.1%	Moderate
	Building Damage Loss Index, 28th		50.0%	Moderate
People / Social Vulnerabilities	Population in Floodplain Ratio Click for more information.	31.6%	92.5%	VERY HIGH
	Population Displaced Ratio Click for more information.	8.8%	66.6%	Relatively High
	WV Social Vulnerability Index Click for more information.	-	83.3%	Very High
	People / Social Vulnerabilities Index, 9th		85.1%	Very High
Risk Index	Cumulative Index Click for more information.		85.1%	Very High

Risk Index Legend

VERY HIGH: 90% - 100%

Very High: 80% - 100%

Relatively High: 60% - 79.9%

Moderate: 40% - 59.9%

Relatively Low: 20% - 39.9%

Very Low: 0% - 19.9%

Flood Risk Indicators of Lincoln County Compared to Other Counties

Table 3. Flood Risk Index Comparison: Flood risk indicator values for Lincoln County compared to descriptive statistics of all counties.

Category	Flood Risk Indicator	Value for Lincoln	Median Value	Mean Value	Min Value	Max Value	State Stats
Floodplain Characteristics	Floodplain Area Click for more information.	11,311 Acres	8,085 Acres	9,612 Acres	1,528 Acres	26,607 Acres	528,635 Acres
	Floodplain Length Click for more information.	393.4 Miles	303.9 Miles	312.8 Miles	75.3 Miles	911.2 Miles	17,205.1 Miles
	Flood Declared Disasters Click for more information.	27	16	16	9	28	64
	Flood Depth Median Click for more information.	3.0 Ft	2.1 Ft	2.4 Ft	0.9 Ft	5.1 Ft	1.8 Ft

Building Exposure	Building Floodplain Count Click for more information.	2,556	939	1,498	300	13,452	82,408
	Building Floodway Count Click for more information.	140	67	150	0	1,462	8,237
	Building Floodplain Ratio Click for more information.	21.3%	5.9%	7.9%	0.8%	24.5%	7.4%
	Building Density Click for more information.	0.23 /Acre	0.1 /Acre	0.19 /Acre	0.02 /Acre	1.12 /Acre	0.16 /Acre

Building Characteristics	Building Median Value Click for more information.	$25,300	$42,200	$42,023	$14,000	$97,450	$38,200
	Bldg. Mobile Homes Ratio Click for more information.	40.0%	25.8%	25.9%	4.0%	53.3%	27.5%
	Bldg. Subgrade Basements Ratio Click for more information.	10.4%	21.6%	25.1%	10.4%	71.7%	24.8%
	Building 1-Story Ratio Click for more information.	94.5%	84.0%	82.4%	39.4%	94.9%	84.0%
	Bldg. Year Pre-FIRM Ratio Click for more information.	66.7%	80.0%	77.8%	57.3%	92.9%	77.5%
	Bldg. Year Minus Rated Post-FIRM Ratio Click for more information.	4.4%	4.6%	6.4%	1.0%	23.0%	5.8%

Critical Infrastructure	Essential Facilities Click for more information.	7	5	9	0	80	489
	Roads Inundated Ratio Click for more information.	8.2%	5.7%	6.8%	2.6%	19.2%	6.7%

Community Assets	Community Assets Historical Click for more information.	1	7	50	0	1,263	2,758
	Community Assets Non-Historical Click for more information.	56	27	38	8	261	2,092

Building Damage Loss	Bldg. Substantial Damage Count Click for more information.	123	80	118	4	975	6,493
	Bldg. Substantial Damage Ratio Click for more information.	4.8%	6.1%	9.0%	1.2%	33.4%	7.9%
	Bldg. Previous Damage Claims Click for more information.	350	350	507	34	3,044	27,882
	Bldg. Repetitive Loss Structures Click for more information.	123	127	176	5	1,547	9,698

People / Social Vulnerabilities	Population in Floodplain Ratio Click for more information.	31.6%	10.6%	14.0%	1.0%	45.0%	11.0%
	Population Displaced Ratio Click for more information.	8.8%	5.5%	8.2%	0.6%	30.4%	6.6%
	WV Social Vulnerability Index Click for more information.	83.3%	50.0%	50.0%	0.0%	100.0%	-

General Information Statistics for Lincoln County

Table 4. General Information and comparison statistics for Lincoln County.

	Total Area (ACRES)	Total Structures	Total Population	Population Density (/SQ MILE)	Number of Households	Average Household Size

Lincoln County	280,803	12,012	20,625	47.0	7,759	2.7

STATE STATS	15,500,454	1,118,761	1,801,049	74.4	711,352	2.5
COUNTIES STATS:
Median	269,049	16,115	22,603	47.0	7,912	2.6
Mean	281,826	20,341	32,746	93.5	12,934	2.6
Minimum	56,402 (Hancock)	3,954 (Calhoun)	5,264 (Wirt)	8.5 (Pocahontas)	2,081 (Wirt)	2.2 (Brooke)
Maximum	665,171 (Randolph)	100,457 (Kanawha)	181,953 (Kanawha)	389.9 (Ohio)	76,919 (Kanawha)	3.1 (Doddridge)

Risk Indicator data last updated August 2024