FEMA Records
49
Very high volume
Florida · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Bay County, FL
49 FEMA disaster declarations (1975-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 49
- FEMA declarations
- 31
- Major disasters
- 94
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Bay County. Its 49 FEMA declarations are 21% above the Florida county mean and exceed the count for 99% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 6%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 6%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 49
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 9,002
- 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.
How does Bay County compare?
Bay County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
49 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
Bay County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Florida county average
What does Bay County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 9,002 claims and $337.5M 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 $37.5K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Bay County's 49 federal records stand 21% above the Florida county mean of 40.4. 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 sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 94.1/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $157.9M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Low and community resilience Relatively Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Hurricane stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 4 years here, based on 106 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 49 entries for Bay County, including 31 Major Disaster records, 21% above the Florida county mean. Across the 49-year span, that works out to 1.0 declarations a year. Hurricane leads the file with 26 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
76 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Bay 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
30/30
49 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
15/25
49 declarations (1.2x state county average of 40)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
31 of 49 declarations are major disasters (63%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Bay County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Florida Avg
+21%
State avg: 40.4
vs. National Avg
+136%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
1.0
Over 49 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Bay 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
63%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
94
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Bay 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 | Very High | roughly once every 4 years |
| Lightning | Very High | an average of 87 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 6.7 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.6 times per year |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 3.8 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 523 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,205 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 11 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | roughly once every 6 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 17 modeled event-days per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 26
Severe Storm 8
Fire 5
Tropical Storm 4
Flood 4
Biological 2
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Bay County's federal record, 53% 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 - 31 63.3%
of all 49 declarations
Emergency - 15 30.6%
of all 49 declarations
Fire Management - 3 6.1%
of all 49 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | |
| 2023 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 4 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2019 | 3 | |
| 2017 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2004 | 3 | |
| 2001 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 2 | |
Show 7 earlier declaration years
| 1998 | 5 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 2 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1975 | 2 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 49 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 49 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4828 | HURRICANE HELENE | DR | Hurricane | 2024-09-28 |
| 3615 | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-24 |
| 4806 | HURRICANE DEBBY | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-10 |
| 3605 | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-03 |
| 4734 | HURRICANE IDALIA | DR | Hurricane | 2023-08-31 |
| 3596 | TROPICAL STORM IDALIA | EM | Tropical Storm | 2023-08-28 |
| 4673 | HURRICANE IAN | DR | Hurricane | 2022-09-29 |
| 3584 | TROPICAL STORM IAN | EM | Hurricane | 2022-09-24 |
| 5426 | CHIPOLA FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2022-03-06 |
| 5424 | 1707 ADKINS AVE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2022-03-04 |
| 3562 | TROPICAL STORM FRED | EM | Hurricane | 2021-08-16 |
| 4564 | HURRICANE SALLY | DR | Hurricane | 2020-09-23 |
| 3546 | HURRICANE SALLY | EM | Hurricane | 2020-09-15 |
| 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 |
| 4399 | HURRICANE MICHAEL | DR | Hurricane | 2018-10-11 |
| 3405 | HURRICANE MICHAEL | EM | Hurricane | 2018-10-09 |
| 4337 | HURRICANE IRMA | DR | Hurricane | 2017-09-10 |
| 3385 | HURRICANE IRMA | EM | Hurricane | 2017-09-05 |
Show 29 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4177 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2014-05-06 |
| 4138 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-08-02 |
| 4084 | HURRICANE ISAAC | DR | Hurricane | 2012-10-18 |
| 1831 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-04-21 |
| 1806 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | DR | Hurricane | 2008-10-27 |
| 3288 | TROPICAL STORM FAY | EM | Severe Storm | 2008-08-21 |
| 3220 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1602 | HURRICANE KATRINA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-08-28 |
| 1595 | HURRICANE DENNIS | DR | Hurricane | 2005-07-10 |
| 1551 | HURRICANE IVAN | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-16 |
| 1545 | HURRICANE FRANCES | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-04 |
| 1539 | TROPICAL STORM BONNIE AND HURRICANE CHARLEY | DR | Hurricane | 2004-08-13 |
| 1381 | TROPICAL STORM ALLISON | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-06-17 |
| 1344 | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-10-03 |
| 3139 | FL-FIRES 04/15/99 | EM | Fire | 1999-04-27 |
| 2255 | FL-FIRES 04/13/99 | FM | Fire | 1999-04-17 |
| 1249 | HURRICANE GEORGES | DR | Hurricane | 1998-09-28 |
| 3131 | HURRICANE GRORGES | EM | Hurricane | 1998-09-25 |
| 1241 | HURRICANE EARL | DR | Hurricane | 1998-09-04 |
| 1223 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | DR | Fire | 1998-06-18 |
| 1195 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-01-06 |
| 1069 | HURRICANE OPAL | DR | Hurricane | 1995-10-04 |
| 1062 | HURRICANE ERIN | DR | Hurricane | 1995-08-10 |
| 1035 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING (TROPICAL STORM ALBERTO) | DR | Severe Storm | 1994-07-10 |
| 3114 | TROPICAL STORM ALBERTO | EM | Flood | 1994-07-08 |
| 862 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1990-04-03 |
| 600 | HURRICANE FREDERIC | DR | Hurricane | 1979-09-13 |
| 484 | HIGH WINDS, HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1975-09-26 |
| 479 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1975-08-22 |
Storm Events in Florida
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Bay 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 NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
9,002
Total Paid
$337.5M
Avg Per Claim
$37.5K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 94.1/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$157.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hurricane Very High
Lightning Very High
Tornado Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Coastal Flooding Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Hail Very Low
Drought Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) 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 Bay County the two measures on this page point the same way: Hurricane 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
Bay County's closest FEMA peer: Oklahoma County, OK
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Bay County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Bay County shows 49 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Bay County: 31 of 49 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Bay County: NRI composite 94.1 (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 Bay County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Bay County's NFIP claims file (9,002 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 Bay County?
The most common disaster type in Bay County is Hurricane, with 26 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (8), Fire (5), Tropical Storm (4).
How does Bay County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Florida average?
FEMA lists 49 declaration records for Bay County. That is 21% above the Florida county mean of 40.4. Its count is also 136% 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 Bay County received?
Bay County has received 31 major disaster declarations, representing 63% of all 49 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Bay County filed?
Bay County has 9,002 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $337.5M in payments, with an average of $37.5K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Bay County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Bay County was 1998, with 5 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1975 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Bay County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Bay County, Florida has an overall risk score of 94.1 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Low, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $157.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Bay County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Bay County as of the latest release is Hurricane (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Lightning (Very High) and Tornado (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hurricane here at roughly once every 4 years, drawn from 106 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 Bay County
Bay County, FL has 49 federal declaration records, 21% more than the Florida county mean of 40; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 31 of 49 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. Florida overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the Florida mean and the totals for 99% of 3,266 U.S. counties. 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
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.