FEMA Records
16
Below median
Arizona · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Apache County, AZ
16 FEMA disaster declarations (1970-2025), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 16
- FEMA declarations
- 9
- Major disasters
- 79
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Apache County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 16 declarations, more than 27% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 4% below the Arizona county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 21%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 21%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 16
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 10
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Fire Management Assistance (FM) records, which are not presidential disaster declarations, alongside Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 04001 · Apache County 16 declarations · rank 2322/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-MID 16
- MAJOR-MID 56%
- RANK-LOWER #2,322
- PHOTO-FINISH Greene
- NRI-LOW 79
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Flood
- VS-ST-BELOW -4%
Nearest declaration peer: Greene, GA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Arizona state profile
Apache County among counties with fewer federal records
FEMA declaration records among Apache County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Apache · this county 16
Apache · this county
16 declarations
- Frontier · near 16
Frontier · near
16 declarations
- Greene · near 16
Greene · near
16 declarations
- Terrell · near 16
Terrell · near
16 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Apache County carries 16 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2322 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Apache County versus quieter counties in this dataset
Apache County among lower-declaration counties nationally
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Apache County
16 27th percentile higher than 27% 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
Apache County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Apache County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $10.8M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very High), while Lightning carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Very 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 Apache County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 78.8/100 (Relatively Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Low (roughly $21.0M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Very High and community resilience Very Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Lightning stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 53 times per year here, based on 466,896 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 10 claims and $18.3K 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 Arizona county averages 16.7 federal declaration records, while Apache County has 16. The gap is 4% 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.
53 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Apache County, AZ · 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
12/30
16 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.8x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
12/25
16 declarations (1.0x state county average of 17)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
9 of 16 declarations are major disasters (56%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Apache County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Apache 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
56%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
79
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Apache 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lightning | Very High | an average of 53 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively High | roughly once every 168 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.5 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 6.2 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.8 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1,015 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 48 years |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | roughly once every 3,333 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 67 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 106 modeled event-days per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 0.7 modeled event-days per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 97 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 16 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 25 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 5
Fire 4
Severe Storm 3
Biological 2
Hurricane 1
Drought 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Apache County's record, 31% 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 - 9 56.3%
of all 16 declarations
Emergency - 4 25.0%
of all 16 declarations
Fire Management - 3 18.8%
of all 16 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 16 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 16 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5584 | GREER FIRE | FM | Fire | 2025-05-14 |
| 4620 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2021-09-13 |
| 4524 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-04 |
| 3442 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 2915 | WALLOW FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-06-02 |
| 1888 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-03-18 |
| 3307 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2010-01-24 |
| 3241 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-12 |
| 1581 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-02-17 |
| 2520 | THREE FORKS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2004-06-09 |
| 1422 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2002-06-25 |
| 977 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-01-19 |
| 691 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1983-10-05 |
| 551 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1978-03-04 |
| 3038 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-04-15 |
| 294 | HEAVY RAINS & FLASH | DR | Flood | 1970-09-22 |
Storm Events in Arizona
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Apache County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 2,094 | 45 | 18 | $149.9M |
| Excessive Heat | 1,812 | 1,497 | 120 | $0 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 1,680 | 3 | 19 | $75.9M |
| Heat | 727 | 1,206 | 39 | $0 |
| High Wind | 446 | 0 | 0 | $734.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
10
Total Paid
$18.3K
Avg Per Claim
$1.8K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 78.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$21.0M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Lightning Very High
Wildfire Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Volcanic Activity Very Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Avalanche Very Low
Drought Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Hail Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Tornado 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: Lightning
Lightning is modeled as a high-frequency, low-per-event hazard: strike counts are large, but each strike affects a very small area. Its aggregate cost accumulates through structure fires, electrical and electronic damage, and it is one of the few hazards whose risk is essentially continuous through the season rather than episodic.
Worth noting for Apache County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Lightning carries the highest modeled rating (Very 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
Apache County's closest FEMA peer: Vermilion County, IL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Apache County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Apache County: NRI composite 78.8 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Apache County: 9 of 16 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Apache County shows 16 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
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 Apache County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Apache 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: 78.8 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 16. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 16 FEMA declarations, Apache 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 Apache County?
The most common disaster type in Apache County is Flood, with 5 declarations. Other disaster types include Fire (4), Severe Storm (3), Biological (2).
How does Apache County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Arizona average?
The typical Arizona county has 16.7 FEMA declaration records; Apache County has 16, or 4% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 23% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Apache County received?
Apache County has received 9 major disaster declarations, representing 56% of all 16 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Apache County filed?
Apache County has 10 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $18.3K in payments, with an average of $1.8K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Apache County?
No. In Apache County, Lightning has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $10.8M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Apache County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Apache County was 2005, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1970 to 2025.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Apache County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Apache County, Arizona has an overall risk score of 78.8 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Very High; on community resilience, Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $21.0M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Apache County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Apache County is Lightning (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Wildfire (Relatively High) and Landslide (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts lightning here at an average of 53 times per year, drawn from 466,896 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 Apache County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Arizona profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events