FEMA Records
15
Below median
Ohio · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Ashtabula County, OH
15 FEMA disaster declarations (1969-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Snowstorm.
- 15
- FEMA declarations
- 8
- Major disasters
- 63
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Snowstorm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Ashtabula County. Its 15 FEMA declarations are 2% above the Ohio county mean and exceed the count for 23% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 37%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 37%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 15
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 146
- 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 Ashtabula County compare?
Ashtabula County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
15 23rd percentile higher than 23% 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
Ashtabula County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Ohio county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Ashtabula County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $12.4M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Winter Weather 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 Ashtabula County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 146 paid claims, totaling $2.0M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $13.6K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Ashtabula County's 15 federal records stand 2% above the Ohio county mean of 14.6. 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.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 62.6/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $19.5M in annualized losses), and a Relatively High 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, Winter Weather stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 25 times per year here, based on 247 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 15 entries for Ashtabula County, including 8 Major Disaster records, 2% above the Ohio county mean. Across the 51-year span, that works out to 0.3 declarations a year. Snowstorm leads the file with 3 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
55 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Ashtabula County, OH · 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
11/30
15 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.7x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
13/25
15 declarations (1.0x state county average of 15)
Major Disaster Share High
13/25
8 of 15 declarations are major disasters (53%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Ashtabula County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Ohio Avg
+2%
State avg: 14.6
vs. National Avg
-28%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.3
Over 51 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Ashtabula 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
53%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
63
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Ashtabula 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 25 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 1.6 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 3 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.5 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 3 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 39 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,168 years |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 35 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 1.3 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 14,549 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 3.1 times per year |
| Coastal Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 74 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 8 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 3
Snowstorm 3
Biological 2
Hurricane 2
Tornado 2
Flood 2
Other 1
What Snowstorm declarations mean here
Snowstorm is the most frequent declaration type on Ashtabula County's record, 20% of its declarations. Snow-related declarations work on a narrower basis than most other hazards: they are generally issued to reimburse the cost of snow removal and emergency protective measures, rather than to repair destroyed property.
The qualifying test is unusual too. FEMA assesses snowfall against record levels for the affected area, so the same storm total can qualify in a county where it is historically extreme and not qualify a few hundred miles north where it is an ordinary winter. A low snowstorm declaration count is therefore not evidence of mild winters.
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 - 8 53.3%
of all 15 declarations
Emergency - 7 46.7%
of all 15 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 1985 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 15 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 15 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4507 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-31 |
| 3457 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4098 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING DUE TO THE REMNANTS OF HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2013-01-03 |
| 3346 | SEVERE STORMS | EM | Severe Storm | 2012-06-30 |
| 3286 | RECORD SNOW AND NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2008-04-24 |
| 1656 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-08-01 |
| 3250 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1556 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-09-19 |
| 3187 | POWER OUTAGE | EM | Other | 2003-09-23 |
| 738 | SEVERE STORMS & TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1985-06-03 |
| 3055 | BLIZZARDS & SNOWSTORMS | EM | Snowstorm | 1978-01-26 |
| 3029 | SNOWSTORMS | EM | Snowstorm | 1977-02-02 |
| 377 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-04-27 |
| 345 | TROPICAL STORM AGNES | DR | Flood | 1972-07-19 |
| 266 | TORNADOES, SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 1969-07-15 |
Storm Events in Ohio
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Ashtabula County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 6,938 | 6 | 39 | $60.4M |
| Winter Weather | 2,101 | 7 | 42 | $3.3M |
| Hail | 1,749 | 0 | 0 | $673.5K |
| Flood | 1,607 | 9 | 0 | $84.5M |
| Flash Flood | 1,089 | 9 | 7 | $112.2M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
146
Total Paid
$2.0M
Avg Per Claim
$13.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 62.6/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$19.5M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Winter Weather Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Very Low
Hurricane Very Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Coastal Flooding Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Drought No Rating
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: Winter Weather
Winter Weather in the model means the accumulation of snow and cold that disrupts rather than destroys: road closures, roof loads, burst pipes and lost heating. Its costs land heavily on transport and on households least able to absorb an interruption.
For Ashtabula County the two measures on this page point the same way: Winter Weather is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively High), and Snowstorm 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
Ashtabula County's closest FEMA peer: Greene County, NC
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Ashtabula County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Ashtabula County: NRI composite 62.6 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Ashtabula County: 8 of 15 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Ashtabula County shows 15 FEMA declarations, led by Snowstorm.
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 Ashtabula County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Ashtabula County's NFIP claims file (146 claims) and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records - this guide separates them from modeled NRI risk.
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 Ashtabula County?
The most common disaster type in Ashtabula County is Snowstorm, with 3 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (3), Biological (2), Hurricane (2).
How does Ashtabula County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Ohio average?
FEMA lists 15 declaration records for Ashtabula County. That is 2% above the Ohio county mean of 14.6. Its count is also 28% 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 Ashtabula County received?
Ashtabula County has received 8 major disaster declarations, representing 53% of all 15 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Ashtabula County filed?
Ashtabula County has 146 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $2.0M in payments, with an average of $13.6K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Ashtabula County?
No. In Ashtabula County, Winter Weather has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $12.4M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Ashtabula County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Ashtabula County was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1969 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Ashtabula County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Ashtabula County, Ohio has an overall risk score of 62.6 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively High, while community resilience comes in at Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $19.5M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Ashtabula County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Ashtabula County as of the latest release is Winter Weather (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Strong Wind (Relatively High) and Tornado (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts winter weather here at an average of 25 times per year, drawn from 247 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 Ashtabula County
Ashtabula County, OH has 15 federal declaration records, 2% more than the Ohio county mean of 15; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 8 of 15 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. Ohio overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the Ohio mean and the totals for 23% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- Use the data guide to separate this mid-volume insurance-claims file from declaration counts and modeled NRI risk. Disaster-data guide
An above-average declaration count records past federal responses; it does not predict the next event. Current warnings come from the National Weather Service and local emergency officials.
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.