FEMA Records
24
Above median
Mississippi · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Bolivar County, MS
24 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 24
- FEMA declarations
- 17
- Major disasters
- 77
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Bolivar 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 7% below the Mississippi county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 23%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 23%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 24
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 994
- 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 Bolivar County compare?
Bolivar 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
Bolivar County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Mississippi county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Bolivar County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $10.5M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Earthquake carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate). 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 Bolivar County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 994 claims and $21.7M 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 $21.8K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
Start with the state benchmark: a Mississippi county averages 25.9 federal declaration records, while Bolivar County has 24. The gap is 7% 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 76.8/100 (Relatively Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Low (roughly $22.2M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Very High and community resilience Relatively Moderate, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Earthquake carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 260 years here.
Declaration frequency
Nationally, Bolivar County's 24 FEMA records form a high-volume history; within Mississippi, however, the count is 7% below the county mean. 17 entries carry the Major Disaster classification. The largest incident group is Severe Storm, appearing 8 times. The full 53-year record averages 0.5 declarations annually. A DR label alone does not say whether Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both followed.
67 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Bolivar County, MS · 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
12/25
24 declarations (0.9x state county average of 26)
Major Disaster Share High
18/25
17 of 24 declarations are major disasters (71%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Bolivar County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Mississippi Avg
-7%
State avg: 25.9
vs. National Avg
+16%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.5
Over 53 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Bolivar 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
71%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
77
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Bolivar 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 260 years |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 13 modeled event-days per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 18 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.7 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 2.7 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 30 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 63 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 3.3 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 6,654 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 8
Flood 5
Hurricane 4
Winter Storm 2
Biological 2
Severe Ice Storm 1
Tornado 1
Snowstorm 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Bolivar 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 - 17 70.8%
of all 24 declarations
Emergency - 7 29.2%
of all 24 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 2 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
Show 2 earlier declaration years
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4899 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Winter Storm | 2026-02-06 |
| 3640 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 4626 | HURRICANE IDA | DR | Hurricane | 2021-10-22 |
| 3569 | HURRICANE IDA | EM | Hurricane | 2021-08-28 |
| 4536 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2020-04-16 |
| 4528 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-05 |
| 3474 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4478 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2020-03-12 |
| 4268 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-03-25 |
| 1983 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2011-05-11 |
| 3320 | FLOODING | EM | Flood | 2011-05-04 |
| 3291 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM | Hurricane | 2008-08-30 |
| 1753 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-05-08 |
| 1604 | HURRICANE KATRINA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-08-29 |
| 1398 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-12-07 |
| 1360 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-02-23 |
| 1265 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, ICE AND FREEZING RAIN | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 1999-01-25 |
| 1178 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1997-06-13 |
| 1009 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, FREEEZING RAIN AND SLEET | DR | Severe Storm | 1994-02-18 |
| 906 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1991-05-17 |
Show 4 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 895 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1991-03-05 |
| 3063 | TORNADOES | EM | Tornado | 1978-04-24 |
| 3032 | DROUGHT & FREEZING | EM | Snowstorm | 1977-02-22 |
| 368 | HEAVY RAINS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1973-03-27 |
Storm Events in Mississippi
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Bolivar County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5,557 | 17 | 60 | $93.9M |
| Flash Flood | 1,551 | 6 | 9 | $83.6M |
| Hail | 1,411 | 0 | 0 | $90.1M |
| Heat | 1,340 | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Tornado | 1,097 | 68 | 610 | $562.0M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
994
Total Paid
$21.7M
Avg Per Claim
$21.8K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 76.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$22.2M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Low
Hurricane Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Wildfire 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: Earthquake
Earthquake is the model's clearest example of a hazard with no season and no warning. Its expected loss is driven less by how often shaking occurs than by how much of the building stock predates modern seismic codes, so exposure can be high in places where nothing has happened for a long time.
Worth noting for Bolivar County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Earthquake carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), while the county's declaration history is led by Severe Storm. 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
Bolivar County's closest FEMA peer: Schuylkill County, PA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Bolivar County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Bolivar County shows 24 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Bolivar County: 17 of 24 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Bolivar County: NRI composite 76.8 (Relatively 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 Bolivar County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Bolivar County's NFIP claims file (994 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 Bolivar County?
The most common disaster type in Bolivar County is Severe Storm, with 8 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (5), Hurricane (4), Winter Storm (2).
How does Bolivar County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Mississippi average?
The typical Mississippi county has 25.9 FEMA declaration records; Bolivar County has 24, or 7% 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 Bolivar County received?
Bolivar County has received 17 major disaster declarations, representing 71% of all 24 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Bolivar County filed?
Bolivar County has 994 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $21.7M in payments, with an average of $21.8K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Bolivar County?
No. In Bolivar County, Earthquake has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $10.5M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Bolivar County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Bolivar County was 2020, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Bolivar County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Bolivar County, Mississippi has an overall risk score of 76.8 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Very High and community resilience is Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $22.2M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Bolivar County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Bolivar County as of the latest release is Earthquake (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Drought (Relatively Moderate) and Heat Wave (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts earthquake here at roughly once every 260 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.
What this means for Bolivar County
Against a Mississippi county mean of 26 declarations, Bolivar County, MS records 24, or 7% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as high activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (17 of 24) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Mississippi overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 66% of recorded county totals, but its own Mississippi 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.