FEMA Records
39
Very high volume
Florida · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Baker County, FL
39 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2025), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 39
- FEMA declarations
- 23
- Major disasters
- 13
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Baker County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 39 declarations, more than 96% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 3% below the Florida county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county safer than 13%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Safer than 13%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 39
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 95
- 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 12003 · Baker County 39 declarations · rank 135/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-HEAVY 39
- MAJOR-MID 59%
- RANK-UPPER #135
- PHOTO-FINISH Canadian
- NRI-LOW Very Low
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-BELOW -3%
Nearest declaration peer: Canadian, OK (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Florida state profile
Baker County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Baker County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Baker · this county
Baker · this county
39 declarations
- Canadian · near
Canadian · near
39 declarations
- Delaware · near
Delaware · near
39 declarations
- Orange · near
Orange · near
39 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Baker County carries 39 FEMA declaration records, ranked 135 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Baker County ranks in the national declaration registry
Baker County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Baker County
39 Top 4% higher than 96% 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
Baker County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Baker County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $3.0M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Wildfire carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Low). 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 Baker County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 95 paid claims, totaling $2.9M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $30.6K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
Start with the state benchmark: a Florida county averages 40.4 federal declaration records, while Baker County has 39. The gap is 3% 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.
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's National Risk Index places this county in the low end of the national distribution, composite score 13.3/100 (Very Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $6.3M in annualized losses). Two modifiers shape how that exposure becomes real-world harm here: social vulnerability (Relatively Low) and community resilience (Relatively High). Even the county's top-rated hazard, Wildfire, only reaches Relatively Low on FEMA's scale, none of the 18 modeled hazards stand out here. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 299 years here.
75 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Baker County, FL · 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) Very High
28/30
39 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.9x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
12/25
39 declarations (1.0x state county average of 40)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
23 of 39 declarations are major disasters (59%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Baker County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Baker 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
59%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
13
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Baker 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 299 years |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 5 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 4.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 80 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 935 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | an average of 1.8 times per year |
| Drought | Very Low | 18 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 2 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 14 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | roughly once every 9 years |
| Coastal Flooding | No Rating | roughly once every 83 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 17
Severe Storm 9
Fire 5
Tropical Storm 3
Biological 2
Freezing 1
Tornado 1
Flood 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Baker County's federal record, 44% 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 - 23 59.0%
of all 39 declarations
Emergency - 13 33.3%
of all 39 declarations
Fire Management - 3 7.7%
of all 39 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 4 | |
| 2023 | 3 | |
| 2022 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 3 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 3 | |
Show 7 earlier declaration years
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 2 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 2 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 39 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 39 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4834 | HURRICANE MILTON | DR | Hurricane | 2024-10-11 |
| 3622 | HURRICANE MILTON | EM | Hurricane | 2024-10-07 |
| 4828 | HURRICANE HELENE | DR | Hurricane | 2024-09-28 |
| 4806 | HURRICANE DEBBY | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-10 |
| 3605 | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-03 |
| 4794 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-06-17 |
| 4734 | HURRICANE IDALIA | DR | Hurricane | 2023-08-31 |
| 3596 | TROPICAL STORM IDALIA | EM | Tropical Storm | 2023-08-28 |
| 4680 | HURRICANE NICOLE | DR | Hurricane | 2022-12-13 |
| 4673 | HURRICANE IAN | DR | Hurricane | 2022-09-29 |
| 3584 | TROPICAL STORM IAN | EM | Hurricane | 2022-09-24 |
| 3561 | TROPICAL STORM ELSA | EM | Severe Storm | 2021-07-04 |
| 4486 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3432 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3419 | HURRICANE DORIAN | EM | Hurricane | 2019-08-30 |
| 3405 | HURRICANE MICHAEL | EM | Hurricane | 2018-10-09 |
| 4337 | HURRICANE IRMA | DR | Hurricane | 2017-09-10 |
| 3385 | HURRICANE IRMA | EM | Hurricane | 2017-09-05 |
| 3377 | HURRICANE MATTHEW | EM | Hurricane | 2016-10-06 |
| 4280 | HURRICANE HERMINE | DR | Hurricane | 2016-09-28 |
Show 19 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4068 | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-07-03 |
| 1840 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-05-27 |
| 1785 | TROPICAL STORM FAY | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-08-24 |
| 3288 | TROPICAL STORM FAY | EM | Severe Storm | 2008-08-21 |
| 2689 | SUWANNEE FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2007-05-07 |
| 3220 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1561 | HURRICANE JEANNE | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-26 |
| 1545 | HURRICANE FRANCES | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-04 |
| 1539 | TROPICAL STORM BONNIE AND HURRICANE CHARLEY | DR | Hurricane | 2004-08-13 |
| 1359 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 2001-02-05 |
| 2306 | FL, SUWANNEE FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2000-06-05 |
| 3139 | FL-FIRES 04/15/99 | EM | Fire | 1999-04-27 |
| 2258 | FL-FIRES 04/13/99 | FM | Fire | 1999-04-20 |
| 1223 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | DR | Fire | 1998-06-18 |
| 1195 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-01-06 |
| 1141 | TROPICAL STORM JOSEPHINE | DR | Severe Storm | 1996-10-15 |
| 982 | TORNADOES, FLOODING, HIGH WINDS & TIDES, FREEZING | DR | Tornado | 1993-03-13 |
| 966 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1992-10-08 |
| 387 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-05-26 |
Storm Events in Florida
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Baker County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5,243 | 17 | 45 | $24.8M |
| Hail | 1,012 | 0 | 0 | $564.6K |
| Heavy Rain | 865 | 2 | 3 | $200.0K |
| Flood | 826 | 9 | 0 | $2.0B |
| Tropical Storm | 767 | 92 | 6 | $4.9B |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
95
Total Paid
$2.9M
Avg Per Claim
$30.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 13.3/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$6.3M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Wildfire Relatively Low
Hurricane Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Drought Very Low
Hail Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Winter Weather Very Low
Coastal Flooding 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: Wildfire
Wildfire risk in the model reflects fuel, terrain, weather and how much development sits in the wildland-urban interface. It is one of the few hazards where the exposure is materially changed by land management and building choices, not only by where the county happens to be.
Worth noting for Baker County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Wildfire carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Low), while the county's declaration history is led by Hurricane. 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
Baker County's closest FEMA peer: Payne County, OK
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Baker County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Baker County shows 39 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Baker County: 23 of 39 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Baker County: NRI composite 13.3 (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 Baker County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Baker 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: 13.3 (Very Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 39. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Baker County's NFIP claims file (95 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).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Baker County?
The most common disaster type in Baker County is Hurricane, with 17 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (9), Fire (5), Tropical Storm (3).
How does Baker County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Florida average?
The typical Florida county has 40.4 FEMA declaration records; Baker County has 39, or 3% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 88% higher. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Baker County received?
Baker County has received 23 major disaster declarations, representing 59% of all 39 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Baker County filed?
Baker County has 95 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $2.9M in payments, with an average of $30.6K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Baker County?
No. In Baker County, Wildfire has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Low), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $3.0M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Baker County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Baker County was 2024, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2025.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Baker County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Baker County, Florida has an overall risk score of 13.3 out of 100 (Very Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Low and community resilience is Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $6.3M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Baker County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Baker County as of the latest release is Wildfire (risk rating: Relatively Low). Other significant hazards include Hurricane (Relatively Low) and Heat Wave (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts wildfire here at roughly once every 299 years. These scores are based on FEMA's analysis of historical event frequency, 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 Baker County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Florida profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events