FEMA Records
31
High volume
West Virginia · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Boone County, WV
31 FEMA disaster declarations (1967-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 31
- FEMA declarations
- 22
- Major disasters
- 69
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Boone County. Its 31 FEMA declarations are 28% above the West Virginia county mean and exceed the count for 88% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 31%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 31%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 31
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 477
- 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 54005 · Boone County 31 declarations · rank 366/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 31
- MAJOR-MID 71%
- RANK-MID #366
- PHOTO-FINISH Galveston
- NRI-LOW 69
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +28%
Nearest declaration peer: Galveston, TX (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · West Virginia state profile
Boone County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Boone County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Boone · this county 31
Boone · this county
31 declarations
- Galveston · near 31
Galveston · near
31 declarations
- Orange · near 31
Orange · near
31 declarations
- Woodward · near 31
Woodward · near
31 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Boone County carries 31 FEMA declaration records, ranked 366 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Boone County ranks in the national declaration registry
Boone County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Boone County
31 Top 12% higher than 88% 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
Boone County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Boone County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $17.3M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Landslide 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 Boone County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 477 paid claims, totaling $3.6M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $7.6K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Boone County's 31 federal records stand 28% above the West Virginia county mean of 24.2. 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 carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 69.4/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $18.8M in annualized losses), and a Very High social-vulnerability profile combined with Very Low community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Landslide carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 1.5 times per year here.
76 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Boone 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) High
22/30
31 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.5x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
16/25
31 declarations (1.3x state county average of 24)
Major Disaster Share High
18/25
22 of 31 declarations are major disasters (71%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Boone County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Boone 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
69
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Boone 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.5 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.7 times per year |
| Avalanche | Relatively Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 134 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 3.7 modeled event-days per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 48 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 47 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 940 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 9.4 times per year |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 3 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 25 years |
| Drought | No Rating | 1.8 modeled event-days 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 13
Flood 7
Hurricane 3
Snowstorm 3
Biological 2
Winter Storm 1
Chemical 1
Fire 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Boone County's record, 42% 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 - 22 71.0%
of all 31 declarations
Emergency - 8 25.8%
of all 31 declarations
Fire Management - 1 3.2%
of all 31 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 3 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2012 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 3 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
Show 6 earlier declaration years
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 2 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
| 1967 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 31 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 31 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 |
| 4861 | SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2025-02-26 |
| 4787 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2024-05-24 |
| 4783 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-05-22 |
| 4756 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2024-01-30 |
| 4605 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2021-05-20 |
| 4517 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-03 |
| 3450 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4219 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-05-14 |
| 4210 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-03-31 |
| 3366 | CHEMICAL SPILL | EM | Chemical | 2014-01-10 |
| 4093 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-11-27 |
| 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 |
| 1881 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2010-03-02 |
| 1696 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-05-01 |
| 3221 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1558 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-09-20 |
| 1522 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-06-07 |
Show 11 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1500 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-11-21 |
| 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 |
| 2391 | WV - SOUTHEAST FIRE COMPLEX - 11/16/2001 | FM | Fire | 2001-11-16 |
| 1378 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-06-03 |
| 1115 | FLOODING, HEAVY WINDS | DR | Flood | 1996-05-23 |
| 1084 | BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM) | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-13 |
| 3109 | SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-17 |
| 3052 | SEVERE STORMS, LANDSLIDES & FLOODING | EM | Flood | 1977-08-24 |
| 323 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1972-02-27 |
| 224 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1967-03-13 |
Storm Events in West Virginia
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Boone 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
477
Total Paid
$3.6M
Avg Per Claim
$7.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 69.4/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$18.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Avalanche Relatively Low
Wildfire Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Hail Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Drought 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: Landslide
Landslide risk is a function of slope, soil and water, so it is usually a SECOND-ORDER hazard: it is triggered by the rainfall, snowmelt, wildfire burn scars or seismic shaking that came first. That is why a county can carry high landslide exposure whose realized damage is recorded under a flood or storm declaration instead.
Worth noting for Boone County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Landslide 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
Boone County's closest FEMA peer: Jefferson County, TX
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Boone County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Boone County shows 31 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Boone County: 22 of 31 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Boone County: NRI composite 69.4 (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 Boone County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Boone 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: 69.4 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 31. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Boone County's NFIP claims file (477 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 Boone County?
The most common disaster type in Boone County is Severe Storm, with 13 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (7), Hurricane (3), Snowstorm (3).
How does Boone County's FEMA declaration record compare with the West Virginia average?
FEMA lists 31 declaration records for Boone County. That is 28% above the West Virginia county mean of 24.2. Its count is also 50% 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 Boone County received?
Boone County has received 22 major disaster declarations, representing 71% of all 31 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Boone County filed?
Boone County has 477 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $3.6M in payments, with an average of $7.6K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Boone County?
No. In Boone County, Landslide has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $17.3M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Boone County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Boone County was 2004, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1967 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Boone County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Boone County, West Virginia has an overall risk score of 69.4 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Very High and community resilience is Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $18.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Boone County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Boone County as of the latest release is Landslide (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Riverine Flooding (Relatively Moderate) and Avalanche (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts landslide here at an average of 1.5 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Boone County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · West Virginia profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events