FEMA Records
18
Below median
Nebraska · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Adams County, NE
18 FEMA disaster declarations (1967-2022), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 18
- FEMA declarations
- 16
- Major disasters
- 64
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Adams County. Its 18 FEMA declarations are 7% above the Nebraska county mean and exceed the count for 37% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 36%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 36%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 18
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 25
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records; an EM authorizes a narrower set of federal assistance than a DR.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 31001 · Adams County 18 declarations · rank 2056/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-HEAVY · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-MID 18
- MAJOR-HEAVY 89%
- RANK-LOWER #2,056
- PHOTO-FINISH Monroe
- NRI-LOW 64
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +7%
Nearest declaration peer: Monroe, TN (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Nebraska state profile
Adams County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Adams County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Adams · this county 18
Adams · this county
18 declarations
- Brooke · near 18
Brooke · near
18 declarations
- Mecklenburg · near 18
Mecklenburg · near
18 declarations
- Monroe · near 18
Monroe · near
18 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Adams County carries 18 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2056 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Adams County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Adams County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Adams County
18 37th percentile higher than 37% of 3,266 counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-25
Adams County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does Adams County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 64.3/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $29.7M in annualized losses), and a Very Low social-vulnerability profile combined with Very High community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Hail stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 7.3 times per year here, based on 279 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 25 claims and $282.5K paid in total. PlainHazard calls 1-49 claims a light registry record, a label for this dataset rather than a finding that flood exposure is low. A short claims history can also reflect insurance take-up, the period covered, or losses that were never insured.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Adams County's 18 federal records stand 7% above the Nebraska county mean of 16.8. That comparison describes how often federal action was recorded, including any Major Disaster, Emergency, and Fire Management entries shown on this page; it does not convert the count into future probability.
61 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Adams County, NE · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite from FEMA declaration history only on the county surface (this DB has no county-level NOAA damage row) . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) Moderate
13/30
18 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.9x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
13/25
18 declarations (1.1x state county average of 17)
Major Disaster Share Very High
22/25
16 of 18 declarations are major disasters (89%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Adams County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Adams County
How to read this radar
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
Major Disaster share
89%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
64
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Adams County?
FEMA's National Risk Index models a historical event count and an annualized frequency for each hazard type. Most hazards are expressed as modeled occurrences per year; FEMA expresses drought and heat-wave frequency as event-days per year. These modeled frequencies are not forecasts.
| Hazard | NRI Risk Rating | Recurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Hail | Relatively High | an average of 7.3 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 4.3 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively High | 41 modeled event-days per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 43 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 14 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 5.3 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 5,711 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 2,004 years |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | an average of 4.5 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 12 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 10
Flood 4
Biological 2
Hurricane 1
Severe Ice Storm 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Adams County's record, 56% of its declarations. In FEMA's vocabulary this covers convective weather: thunderstorm straight-line winds, large hail, and the multi-day outbreaks that often carry embedded tornadoes. Activity is heaviest in spring and summer, though the season varies by region.
These events behave differently from a hurricane on paper. Damage tends to be distributed along a storm track rather than concentrated on a coastline, and a declaration typically follows an outbreak that crossed several counties over a few days, not a single point of impact. Because the qualifying threshold is the cost of uninsured public and individual losses rather than storm intensity, two similar storms can produce a declaration in one year and none in another.
Declaration counts describe past federal action. They are a record of what was declared, not a forecast of future hazard probability.
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster - 16 88.9%
of all 18 declarations
Emergency - 2 11.1%
of all 18 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 2 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1967 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 18 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 18 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4641 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2022-02-23 |
| 4521 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-04 |
| 3483 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4420 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2019-03-21 |
| 4225 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-06-25 |
| 4156 | SEVERE STORMS, WINTER STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-11-26 |
| 1924 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-07-15 |
| 1878 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-02-25 |
| 1770 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-06-20 |
| 1674 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-01-07 |
| 3245 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUEES | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1590 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-06-23 |
| 1517 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-05-25 |
| 1190 | SEVERE SNOW STORMS, RAIN, AND STRONG WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-11-01 |
| 998 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-07-19 |
| 983 | ICE JAMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-04-02 |
| 500 | ICE STORMS & HIGH WINDS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 1976-04-08 |
| 228 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1967-07-18 |
Storm Events in Nebraska
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Adams County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 6,079 | 0 | 2 | $237.7M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 4,757 | 3 | 19 | $228.1M |
| Drought | 1,658 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| High Wind | 1,647 | 1 | 1 | $22.1M |
| Winter Storm | 1,155 | 0 | 2 | $335.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
25
Total Paid
$282.5K
Avg Per Claim
$11.3K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 64.3/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$29.7M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hail Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Drought Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Ice Storm Relatively High
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
The model's sharpest exposure here: Hail
Hail is among the most expensive hazards in the model relative to how little it threatens life. It concentrates on roofs, vehicles and crops, and a single severe storm can generate an insurance loss across a metropolitan area without a single injury.
For Adams County the two measures on this page point the same way: Hail is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively High), and Severe Storm declarations also lead its federal record. Where the model and the declaration history agree, the reading is comparatively straightforward, the hazard is both expected and repeatedly realised.
National Risk Index ratings are modeled estimates of expected annual loss, not predictions of what will happen in any given year.
Data-matched county comparisons
Adams County's closest FEMA peer: Lincoln Parish, LA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Adams County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Adams County: NRI composite 64.3 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Adams County: 16 of 18 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Adams County shows 18 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
How these peers are chosen
Cohort: Published U.S. county equivalents outside the source state or territory. Each metric keeps six ETL candidates; three unique destinations are shown after de-duplicating across axes. Declaration-volume ranking combines count and Major-disaster share and prefers a different leading incident type; Major-share ranks the Major fraction adjusted for volume; NRI ranks the modeled composite score only.
Retained FEMA snapshot feed for Adams County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Adams County: nearest out-of-state National Risk Index composite and nearest FEMA declaration count (floor ≥5 records). Record similarity only, not a forecast of the next hazard.
Similar NRI composite
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA NRI score. This county: 64.3 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 18. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 18 FEMA declarations, Adams County sits in the high-volume declaration band - see how that count ranks against other U.S. counties.
More PlainHazard guides
- Most disaster-prone counties - U.S. counties ranked by FEMA declaration totals.
- Understanding disaster data - declarations vs storm events vs NRI scores.
- Preparing for natural disasters - household checklist (not county-specific advice).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Adams County?
The most common disaster type in Adams County is Severe Storm, with 10 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (4), Biological (2), Hurricane (1).
How does Adams County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Nebraska average?
FEMA lists 18 declaration records for Adams County. That is 7% above the Nebraska county mean of 16.8. Its count is also 13% below the national county mean of 20.7. A larger declaration history records more federal actions; it is not a forecast of the county's next hazard.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Adams County received?
Adams County has received 16 major disaster declarations, representing 89% of all 18 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Adams County filed?
Adams County has 25 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $282.5K in payments, with an average of $11.3K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Adams County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Adams County was 1993, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1967 to 2022.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Adams County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Adams County, Nebraska has an overall risk score of 64.3 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Very Low, while community resilience comes in at Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $29.7M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Adams County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Adams County as of the latest release is Hail (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Strong Wind (Relatively High) and Drought (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hail here at an average of 7.3 times per year, drawn from 279 historical events on record. FEMA derives these ratings from historical event frequency, the assets exposed, and the community's vulnerability profile.
Data Sources & Methodology
Disaster declaration data comes from the FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 API, which includes all federally declared disasters, emergencies, and fire management assistance grants.
Storm event data is sourced from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025), which tracks significant weather events including thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, and winter storms.
Flood insurance data comes from the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA claims dataset.
This data is provided for informational purposes only. FEMA disaster declarations represent federal response actions and may not capture all local emergencies or weather events.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Adams County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Nebraska profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events