FEMA Records
29
High volume
Mississippi · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Amite County, MS
29 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 29
- FEMA declarations
- 19
- Major disasters
- 48
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Amite County. Its 29 FEMA declarations are 12% above the Mississippi county mean and exceed the count for 85% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it safer than 48%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Safer than 48%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 29
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 24
- 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 28005 · Amite County 29 declarations · rank 456/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 29
- MAJOR-MID 66%
- RANK-MID #456
- PHOTO-FINISH Bath
- NRI-LOW 48
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +12%
Nearest declaration peer: Bath, KY (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Mississippi state profile
Amite County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Amite County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Amite · this county 29
Amite · this county
29 declarations
- Bath · near 29
Bath · near
29 declarations
- Lenoir · near 29
Lenoir · near
29 declarations
- Walthall · near 29
Walthall · near
29 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Amite County carries 29 FEMA declaration records, ranked 456 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Amite County ranks in the national declaration registry
Amite County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Amite County
29 Top 15% higher than 85% 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
Amite County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Amite County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $3.4M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Hurricane carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate). 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 Amite County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 48.2/100 for this county (Relatively Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Very Low (roughly $8.9M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Very High) and community resilience (Very Low) both factor into how that raw exposure plays out on the ground. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Hurricane carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 7 years here, based on 48 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 24 claims and $194.5K 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. Amite County's 29 federal records stand 12% above the Mississippi county mean of 25.9. 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.
69 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Amite County, MS · 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) High
21/30
29 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
14/25
29 declarations (1.1x state county average of 26)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
19 of 29 declarations are major disasters (66%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Amite County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Amite 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
66%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
48
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Amite 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 7 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 13 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 492 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 2.5 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 80 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 14 modeled event-days per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 2 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 1 time per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 901 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | an average of 1.7 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 14
Severe Storm 7
Winter Storm 2
Biological 2
Tornado 2
Snowstorm 1
Flood 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Amite County's federal record, 48% of its declarations. Atlantic tropical systems run on a defined season, 1 June to 30 November, with most activity concentrated between August and October; Pacific and territorial basins run on their own calendars. A single named storm routinely produces one declaration number covering a long corridor of counties at once, well inland as well as on the coast, which is why an affected county's count can jump by several in one year without several separate events having occurred.
One practical distinction matters when reading these records: a tropical declaration usually bundles wind, storm surge and inland rainfall flooding under a single incident, but the insurance behind them is split. Wind damage falls to property insurers, while flood and surge damage is covered only under a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy. That is why a county can show heavy declaration activity and a comparatively small NFIP claims record, or the reverse.
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 - 19 65.5%
of all 29 declarations
Emergency - 10 34.5%
of all 29 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 5 | |
| 2012 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
Show 5 earlier declaration years
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 29 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 29 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4899 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Winter Storm | 2026-02-06 |
| 3640 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 4727 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES. | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-08-12 |
| 4626 | HURRICANE IDA | DR | Hurricane | 2021-10-22 |
| 3569 | HURRICANE IDA | EM | Hurricane | 2021-08-28 |
| 3548 | HURRICANE DELTA | EM | Hurricane | 2020-10-08 |
| 3544 | HURRICANE SALLY | EM | Hurricane | 2020-09-14 |
| 3539 | HURRICANE MARCO AND TROPICAL STORM LAURA | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-23 |
| 4551 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2020-07-09 |
| 4528 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-05 |
| 3474 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4081 | HURRICANE ISAAC | DR | Hurricane | 2012-08-29 |
| 3348 | TROPICAL STORM ISAAC | EM | Hurricane | 2012-08-28 |
| 1837 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-05-12 |
| 1794 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | DR | Hurricane | 2008-09-22 |
| 3291 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM | Hurricane | 2008-08-30 |
| 1604 | HURRICANE KATRINA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-08-29 |
| 1550 | HURRICANE IVAN | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-15 |
| 1459 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODS | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-04-24 |
| 1436 | TROPICAL STORM ISIDORE | DR | Hurricane | 2002-10-01 |
Show 9 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1360 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-02-23 |
| 968 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH WINDS & TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1992-11-25 |
| 859 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1990-02-28 |
| 3063 | TORNADOES | EM | Tornado | 1978-04-24 |
| 3032 | DROUGHT & FREEZING | EM | Snowstorm | 1977-02-22 |
| 368 | HEAVY RAINS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1973-03-27 |
| 318 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1972-01-19 |
| 271 | HURRICANE CAMILLE | DR | Hurricane | 1969-08-18 |
| 210 | HURRICANE BETSY | DR | Hurricane | 1965-09-25 |
Storm Events in Mississippi
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Amite County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5,557 | 17 | 60 | $93.9M |
| Flash Flood | 1,551 | 6 | 9 | $83.6M |
| Hail | 1,411 | 0 | 0 | $90.1M |
| Heat | 1,340 | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Tornado | 1,097 | 68 | 610 | $562.0M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
24
Total Paid
$194.5K
Avg Per Claim
$8.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 48.2/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$8.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Hail Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Winter Weather 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: Hurricane
Hurricane exposure in the model bundles the three ways a tropical system does harm, which arrive on different timescales and are insured differently: wind, storm surge on the coast, and rainfall flooding that can reach far inland well after landfall.
For Amite County the two measures on this page point the same way: Hurricane is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively Moderate), and Hurricane 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
Amite County's closest FEMA peer: Houston County, TX
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Amite County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Amite County shows 29 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Amite County: 19 of 29 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Amite County: NRI composite 48.2 (Relatively 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 Amite County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Amite 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: 48.2 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 29. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 29 FEMA declarations, Amite 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 Amite County?
The most common disaster type in Amite County is Hurricane, with 14 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (7), Winter Storm (2), Biological (2).
How does Amite County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Mississippi average?
FEMA lists 29 declaration records for Amite County. That is 12% above the Mississippi county mean of 25.9. Its count is also 40% above 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 Amite County received?
Amite County has received 19 major disaster declarations, representing 66% of all 29 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Amite County filed?
Amite County has 24 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $194.5K in payments, with an average of $8.1K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Amite County?
No. In Amite County, Hurricane has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $3.4M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Amite County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Amite County was 2020, with 5 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Amite County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Amite County, Mississippi has an overall risk score of 48.2 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Very High, while community resilience comes in at Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $8.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Amite County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Amite County is Hurricane (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Tornado (Relatively Moderate) and Heat Wave (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hurricane here at roughly once every 7 years, drawn from 48 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Amite County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Mississippi profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events