FEMA Records
18
Below median
West Virginia · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Berkeley County, WV
18 FEMA disaster declarations (1972-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 18
- FEMA declarations
- 12
- Major disasters
- 68
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Berkeley County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 18 declarations, more than 37% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 26% below the West Virginia county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 32%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 32%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 18
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 310
- 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 54003 · Berkeley County 18 declarations · rank 2007/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-MID 18
- MAJOR-MID 67%
- RANK-LOWER #2,007
- PHOTO-FINISH Monroe
- NRI-LOW 68
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-BELOW -26%
Nearest declaration peer: Monroe, TN (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · West Virginia state profile
Berkeley County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Berkeley County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Berkeley · this county 18
Berkeley · this county
18 declarations
- Brooke · near 18
Brooke · near
18 declarations
- Mecklenburg · near 18
Mecklenburg · near
18 declarations
- Monroe · near 18
Monroe · near
18 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Berkeley County carries 18 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2007 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Berkeley County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Berkeley County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Berkeley County
18 37th percentile higher than 37% 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
Berkeley County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Berkeley County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $25.2M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Strong Wind 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 Berkeley County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 310 paid claims, totaling $4.9M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $15.7K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
Start with the state benchmark: a West Virginia county averages 24.2 federal declaration records, while Berkeley County has 18. The gap is 26% 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 carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 68.3/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $35.2M in annualized losses), and a Very Low social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively Moderate community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Strong Wind stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 6 times per year here, based on 229 historical events on record.
54 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Berkeley County, WV · 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
13/30
18 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.9x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
9/25
18 declarations (0.7x state county average of 24)
Major Disaster Share High
17/25
12 of 18 declarations are major disasters (67%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Berkeley County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Berkeley 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
67%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
68
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Berkeley 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 6 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 14 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.5 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 3.6 modeled event-days per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 14 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 4 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 889 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 3.2 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 37 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 6 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 2,829 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | an average of 1.9 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 6
Hurricane 3
Snowstorm 3
Flood 3
Biological 2
Winter Storm 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Berkeley County's record, 33% of its declarations. In FEMA's vocabulary this covers convective weather: thunderstorm straight-line winds, large hail, and the multi-day outbreaks that often carry embedded tornadoes. Activity is heaviest in spring and summer, though the season varies by region.
These events behave differently from a hurricane on paper. Damage tends to be distributed along a storm track rather than concentrated on a coastline, and a declaration typically follows an outbreak that crossed several counties over a few days, not a single point of impact. Because the qualifying threshold is the cost of uninsured public and individual losses rather than storm intensity, two similar storms can produce a declaration in one year and none in another.
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 - 12 66.7%
of all 18 declarations
Emergency - 6 33.3%
of all 18 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 3 | |
| 1996 | 3 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 18 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 18 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3639 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 4517 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-03 |
| 3450 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3358 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-29 |
| 4071 | SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-07-23 |
| 3345 | SEVERE STORMS | EM | Severe Storm | 2012-06-30 |
| 1903 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORMS | DR | Snowstorm | 2010-04-23 |
| 3221 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1558 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-09-20 |
| 1496 | HURRICANE ISABEL | DR | Hurricane | 2003-09-23 |
| 1474 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-06-21 |
| 1455 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, RECORD/NEAR RECORD SNOW, HEAVY RAINS, FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-03-14 |
| 1137 | HURRICANE FRAN AND ASSOCIATED HEAVY RAINS,FLOODING HIGHWIND | DR | Severe Storm | 1996-09-11 |
| 1096 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1996-01-25 |
| 1084 | BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM) | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-13 |
| 3109 | SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-17 |
| 753 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1985-11-07 |
| 344 | TROPICAL STORM AGNES | DR | Flood | 1972-07-03 |
Storm Events in West Virginia
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Berkeley County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 3,644 | 4 | 9 | $16.4M |
| Winter Weather | 1,939 | 0 | 22 | $1.3M |
| Flood | 1,127 | 13 | 0 | $109.0M |
| Flash Flood | 1,003 | 33 | 1 | $141.5M |
| Hail | 757 | 1 | 0 | $6.5M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
310
Total Paid
$4.9M
Avg Per Claim
$15.7K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 68.3/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$35.2M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Strong Wind Relatively High
Hurricane Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Avalanche Very Low
Cold Wave 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: Strong Wind
Strong Wind covers damaging non-thunderstorm, non-tornadic wind, the kind produced by steep pressure gradients and downslope events. It is a broad, frequent, low-drama hazard: roofs, signage, power lines and high-profile vehicles, spread across a wide area rather than concentrated on a path.
For Berkeley County the two measures on this page point the same way: Strong Wind is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively High), and Severe Storm 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
Berkeley County's closest FEMA peer: Bedford County, PA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Berkeley County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Berkeley County: NRI composite 68.3 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Berkeley County: 12 of 18 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Berkeley County shows 18 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
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 Berkeley County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Berkeley 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: 68.3 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 18. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Berkeley County's NFIP claims file (310 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 Berkeley County?
The most common disaster type in Berkeley County is Severe Storm, with 6 declarations. Other disaster types include Hurricane (3), Snowstorm (3), Flood (3).
How does Berkeley County's FEMA declaration record compare with the West Virginia average?
The typical West Virginia county has 24.2 FEMA declaration records; Berkeley County has 18, or 26% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 13% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Berkeley County received?
Berkeley County has received 12 major disaster declarations, representing 67% of all 18 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Berkeley County filed?
Berkeley County has 310 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $4.9M in payments, with an average of $15.7K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Berkeley County?
No. In Berkeley County, Strong Wind has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $25.2M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Berkeley County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Berkeley County was 1996, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1972 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Berkeley County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Berkeley County, West Virginia has an overall risk score of 68.3 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Very Low, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $35.2M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Berkeley County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Berkeley County is Strong Wind (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Hurricane (Relatively Low) and Riverine Flooding (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts strong wind here at an average of 6 times per year, drawn from 229 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Berkeley County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · West Virginia profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events