FEMA Records
7
Low volume
Colorado · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Alamosa County, CO
7 FEMA disaster declarations (1970-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 7
- FEMA declarations
- 4
- Major disasters
- 40
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Start with the local benchmark for Alamosa County: 7 FEMA declaration records are 31% below the Colorado county mean, even though the count is higher than 4% of counties in the national registry. On FEMA's distinct National Risk Index model, which combines expected loss with vulnerability and resilience, the county ranks safer than 40%.
- Safer than 40%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 7
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 18
- 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.
How does Alamosa County compare?
Alamosa County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
7 4th percentile higher than 4% 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 · 2026-08-03
Alamosa County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Colorado county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Alamosa County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $3.5M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Drought carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High). EAL and risk score use different inputs; they need not agree.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025 release) - Expected Annual Loss vs composite risk rating by hazard.
What does Alamosa County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 40.4/100 for this county (Very Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Very Low (roughly $7.9M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Very High) and community resilience (Relatively Low) both factor into how that raw exposure plays out on the ground. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Drought stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at 73 modeled event-days per year here, based on 1,995 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The state comparison is the clearest context for Alamosa County's moderate federal record. Its 7 declarations sit 31% below the Colorado county mean, with 4 Major Disaster entries among them. 2 records concern Flood, the file's most frequent incident type. Spread across 50 years, the registry rate is 0.1 per year. FEMA reports authorized programs separately from the DR, EM, and FM codes.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 18 claims and $4.2K 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.
Start with the state benchmark: a Colorado county averages 10.2 federal declaration records, while Alamosa County has 7. The gap is 31% below that mean. Fewer entries indicate a quieter history of recorded federal actions, not immunity from a hazard and not a prediction about what happens next.
41 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Alamosa County, CO · 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) Low
5/30
7 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.3x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
9/25
7 declarations (0.7x state county average of 10)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
4 of 7 declarations are major disasters (57%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Alamosa County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
Moderate
vs. Colorado Avg
-31%
State avg: 10.2
vs. National Avg
-66%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.1
Over 50 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Alamosa 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
57%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
40
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Alamosa 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively High | 73 modeled event-days per year |
| Avalanche | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 30 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 571 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 58 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 5,453 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 6.1 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 14 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 13 years |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 67 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 19 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 0.3 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 17 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Biological 2
Flood 2
Coastal Storm 1
Snowstorm 1
Fire 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Alamosa County's record, 29% of its declarations. Federal flood declarations cover two mechanisms that behave very differently: riverine flooding, which builds over days as a watershed drains and is usually forecast well in advance, and flash flooding, which can arrive in under an hour from rainfall that fell somewhere upstream.
Flood is also the one hazard class where a second federal dataset exists for the same events. The National Flood Insurance Program records what was actually paid on insured losses, so it measures a narrower thing than the declaration count: uninsured damage, and flooding outside mapped special flood hazard areas, never enters it. Reading the two together is more informative than either alone.
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 - 4 57.1%
of all 7 declarations
Emergency - 3 42.9%
of all 7 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 7 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 7 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4498 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-28 |
| 3436 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3224 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Coastal Storm | 2005-09-05 |
| 3185 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-04-09 |
| 1421 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2002-06-19 |
| 396 | FLOODING & LANDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 1973-07-06 |
| 293 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1970-09-22 |
Storm Events in Colorado
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Alamosa County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 4,913 | 0 | 100 | $2.9B |
| Winter Weather | 2,620 | 3 | 23 | $22.5K |
| High Wind | 1,992 | 5 | 6 | $20.9M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 1,741 | 2 | 11 | $5.4M |
| Winter Storm | 1,497 | 0 | 0 | $848.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
18
Total Paid
$4.2K
Avg Per Claim
$233
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 40.4/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$7.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Relatively High
Avalanche Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Very Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Strong Wind 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: Drought
Drought is the slowest of the modeled hazards and the least visible: it does its damage to agriculture, water supply and soil over seasons rather than hours, so it rarely produces the kind of single-day damage that drives a disaster declaration. FEMA scores it in event-days per year rather than discrete events for exactly that reason.
Worth noting for Alamosa County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Drought carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Flood. That is not a contradiction, the two measure genuinely different things. Declarations record federal ACTION, which requires damage costly enough to exceed state and local capacity; the Risk Index models EXPECTED annual loss across all 18 hazards whether or not any declaration ever followed. A hazard can be the county's largest modeled exposure and never once have driven a declaration.
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
Alamosa County's closest FEMA peer: Crook County, WY
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Alamosa County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Alamosa County shows 7 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
Similar Major-disaster share
Alamosa County: 4 of 7 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Alamosa County: NRI composite 40.4 (Very Low).
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 Alamosa County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
FEMA's National Risk Index flags Drought as the top modeled exposure here (Relatively High); the guide explains how that model differs from declaration counts.
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).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Alamosa County?
The most common disaster type in Alamosa County is Flood, with 2 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Coastal Storm (1), Snowstorm (1).
How does Alamosa County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Colorado average?
The typical Colorado county has 10.2 FEMA declaration records; Alamosa County has 7, or 31% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 66% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Alamosa County received?
Alamosa County has received 4 major disaster declarations, representing 57% of all 7 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Alamosa County filed?
Alamosa County has 18 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $4.2K in payments, with an average of $233 per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Alamosa County?
No. In Alamosa County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $3.5M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Alamosa County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Alamosa County was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1970 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Alamosa County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Alamosa County, Colorado has an overall risk score of 40.4 out of 100 (Very Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Very High; on community resilience, Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $7.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Alamosa County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Alamosa County is Drought (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Avalanche (Relatively Moderate) and Earthquake (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 73 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 1,995 historical events on record. The underlying methodology weighs historical event frequency against exposed assets and community vulnerability.
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.
What this means for Alamosa County
Against a Colorado county mean of 10 declarations, Alamosa County, CO records 7, or 31% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as moderate activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (4 of 7) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Colorado overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 4% of recorded county totals, but its own Colorado benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. Most-disaster rankings
- A short NFIP claims file cannot establish low flood exposure; the data guide explains the limits of each federal measure. Disaster-data guide
A below-average federal record is not a safety guarantee. Use National Weather Service alerts and local emergency-management notices for present conditions, not this historical comparison.
PlainHazard derives this profile from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries and National Risk Index data. The declaration comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 - all federally-declared disasters for this county. fema.gov/openfema/disaster-declarations
- FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) - per-county per-hazard risk ratings and expected annual loss. hazards.fema.gov/nri
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database - state-level storm/severe-weather event records, 2015-2025. ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.