FEMA Records
24
Above median
Massachusetts · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Barnstable County, MA
24 FEMA disaster declarations (1972-2023), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 24
- FEMA declarations
- 14
- Major disasters
- 89
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Barnstable County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 24 declarations, more than 66% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 17% below the Massachusetts county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 11%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 11%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 24
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 3,184
- 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 Barnstable County compare?
Barnstable County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
24 Top 34% higher than 66% 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
Barnstable County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Massachusetts county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Barnstable County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $44.2M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Coastal Flooding 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 Barnstable County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 3,184 claims and $42.8M in payments. PlainHazard labels 500 or more claims a heavy registry record; that is a reporting bucket, not an official FEMA risk grade. The average paid claim was $13.4K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
Start with the state benchmark: a Massachusetts county averages 28.8 federal declaration records, while Barnstable County has 24. The gap is 17% 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
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 89.1/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $82.3M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Low and community resilience Very High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Coastal Flooding stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 4.8 times per year here.
Declaration frequency
Nationally, Barnstable County's 24 FEMA records form a high-volume history; within Massachusetts, however, the count is 17% below the county mean. 14 entries carry the Major Disaster classification. The largest incident group is Hurricane, appearing 9 times. The full 51-year record averages 0.5 declarations annually. A DR label alone does not say whether Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both followed.
60 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Barnstable County, MA · 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
17/30
24 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.2x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
10/25
24 declarations (0.8x state county average of 29)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
14 of 24 declarations are major disasters (58%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Barnstable County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Massachusetts Avg
-17%
State avg: 28.8
vs. National Avg
+16%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.5
Over 51 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Barnstable 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
58%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
89
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Barnstable 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flooding | Very High | an average of 4.8 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively High | roughly once every 7 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 15 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 849 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 12 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 3 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 37,195 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 12 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 1.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 1.9 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 9.8 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 9
Snowstorm 5
Severe Storm 4
Biological 2
Coastal Storm 2
Flood 1
Fishing Losses 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Barnstable County's federal record, 38% 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 - 14 58.3%
of all 24 declarations
Emergency - 10 41.7%
of all 24 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 3 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 2 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
Show 3 earlier declaration years
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 24 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 24 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3599 | HURRICANE LEE | EM | Hurricane | 2023-09-15 |
| 4496 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-27 |
| 3438 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4372 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2018-06-25 |
| 4214 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-04-13 |
| 4110 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-04-19 |
| 4097 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-12-19 |
| 3350 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-28 |
| 4028 | TROPICAL STORM IRENE | DR | Hurricane | 2011-09-03 |
| 3330 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-26 |
| 3315 | HURRICANE EARL | EM | Hurricane | 2010-09-02 |
| 1701 | SEVERE STORMS AND INLAND AND COASTAL FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-05-16 |
| 3252 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 3201 | RECORD AND/OR NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2005-02-17 |
| 3191 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2004-01-15 |
| 3175 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-03-11 |
| 1090 | BLIZZARD OF 96 | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-24 |
| 3103 | BLIZZARDS, HIGH WINDS & RECORD SNOWFALL | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-16 |
| 975 | WINTER COASTAL STORM | DR | Coastal Storm | 1992-12-21 |
| 920 | COASTAL STORM | DR | Coastal Storm | 1991-11-04 |
Show 4 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 914 | HURRICANE BOB | DR | Hurricane | 1991-08-26 |
| 751 | HURRICANE GLORIA | DR | Hurricane | 1985-10-28 |
| 546 | COASTAL STORMS, FLOOD, ICE & SNOW | DR | Flood | 1978-02-10 |
| 357 | TOXIC ALGAE IN COASTAL WATERS | DR | Fishing Losses | 1972-09-28 |
Storm Events in Massachusetts
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Barnstable County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2,101 | 2 | 7 | $13.2M |
| Strong Wind | 1,019 | 4 | 8 | $3.2M |
| High Wind | 722 | 3 | 10 | $10.8M |
| Flood | 563 | 0 | 0 | $4.0M |
| Winter Weather | 390 | 1 | 14 | $1.4M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
3,184
Total Paid
$42.8M
Avg Per Claim
$13.4K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 89.1/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$82.3M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Coastal Flooding Very High
Hurricane Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Landslide Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Very Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively 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: Coastal Flooding
Coastal Flooding is modeled separately from riverine flooding because its driver is different: surge, tide and wave action rather than a watershed draining. It is also the hazard whose baseline is moving, since the same storm rides on a higher starting sea level than it used to.
For Barnstable County the two measures on this page point the same way: Coastal Flooding is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Very High), 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
Barnstable County's closest FEMA peer: Callahan County, TX
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Barnstable County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Barnstable County shows 24 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Barnstable County: 14 of 24 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Barnstable County: NRI composite 89.1 (Relatively Moderate).
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 Barnstable County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Barnstable County's NFIP claims file (3,184 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 Barnstable County?
The most common disaster type in Barnstable County is Hurricane, with 9 declarations. Other disaster types include Snowstorm (5), Severe Storm (4), Biological (2).
How does Barnstable County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Massachusetts average?
The typical Massachusetts county has 28.8 FEMA declaration records; Barnstable County has 24, or 17% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 16% higher. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Barnstable County received?
Barnstable County has received 14 major disaster declarations, representing 58% of all 24 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Barnstable County filed?
Barnstable County has 3,184 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $42.8M in payments, with an average of $13.4K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Barnstable County?
No. In Barnstable County, Coastal Flooding has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $44.2M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Barnstable County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Barnstable County was 2013, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1972 to 2023.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Barnstable County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Barnstable County, Massachusetts has an overall risk score of 89.1 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Low, while community resilience comes in at Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $82.3M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Barnstable County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Barnstable County is Coastal Flooding (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Hurricane (Relatively High) and Riverine Flooding (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts coastal flooding here at an average of 4.8 times per year. 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 Barnstable County
Against a Massachusetts county mean of 29 declarations, Barnstable County, MA records 24, or 17% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as high activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (14 of 24) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Massachusetts overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 66% of recorded county totals, but its own Massachusetts benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. Most-disaster rankings
- The large NFIP claims file and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records; the guide explains where they overlap and where they do not. 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.