FEMA Records
18
Below median
Nebraska · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Buffalo County, NE
18 FEMA disaster declarations (1967-2022), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 18
- FEMA declarations
- 16
- Major disasters
- 66
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Buffalo County. Its 18 FEMA declarations are 7% above the Nebraska county mean and exceed the count for 37% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 34%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 34%
- 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
- 64
- 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 31019 · Buffalo County 18 declarations · rank 1923/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-HEAVY · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-MID 18
- MAJOR-HEAVY 89%
- RANK-LOWER #1,923
- PHOTO-FINISH Monroe
- NRI-LOW 66
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +7%
Nearest declaration peer: Monroe, TN (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Nebraska state profile
Buffalo County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Buffalo County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Brooke · near 18
Brooke · near
18 declarations
- Buffalo · this county 18
Buffalo · this county
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 Buffalo County carries 18 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1923 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Buffalo County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Buffalo County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Buffalo 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
Buffalo County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does Buffalo County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 64 paid claims, totaling $7.2M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $112.2K 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. Buffalo County's 18 federal records stand 7% above the Nebraska county mean of 16.8. 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, 66.0/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $37.4M in annualized losses), and a Very Low social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively High community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Hail stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 7 times per year here, based on 264 historical events on record.
61 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Buffalo County, NE · 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 High
13/25
18 declarations (1.1x state county average of 17)
Major Disaster Share Very High
22/25
16 of 18 declarations are major disasters (89%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Buffalo County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Buffalo 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
89%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
66
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Buffalo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hail | Relatively High | an average of 7 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 40 modeled event-days per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 3 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1,182 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 43 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 16 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 4.6 modeled event-days per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,992 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | an average of 4.7 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 10
Flood 4
Biological 2
Hurricane 1
Snowstorm 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Buffalo County's record, 56% 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 - 16 88.9%
of all 18 declarations
Emergency - 2 11.1%
of all 18 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1967 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4641 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2022-02-23 |
| 4521 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-04 |
| 3483 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4420 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2019-03-21 |
| 4014 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-08-12 |
| 1924 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-07-15 |
| 1770 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-06-20 |
| 1714 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-07-24 |
| 1674 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-01-07 |
| 3245 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUEES | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1590 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-06-23 |
| 1517 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-05-25 |
| 1190 | SEVERE SNOW STORMS, RAIN, AND STRONG WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-11-01 |
| 1027 | SEVERE SNOW AND ICE STORM | DR | Snowstorm | 1994-05-09 |
| 998 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-07-19 |
| 873 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1990-07-04 |
| 552 | STORMS, ICE JAMS, SNOWMELT & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1978-03-24 |
| 228 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1967-07-18 |
Storm Events in Nebraska
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Buffalo County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 6,079 | 0 | 2 | $237.7M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 4,757 | 3 | 19 | $228.1M |
| Drought | 1,658 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| High Wind | 1,647 | 1 | 1 | $22.1M |
| Winter Storm | 1,155 | 0 | 2 | $335.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
64
Total Paid
$7.2M
Avg Per Claim
$112.2K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 66.0/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$37.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hail Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Drought Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Landslide 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: Hail
Hail is among the most expensive hazards in the model relative to how little it threatens life. It concentrates on roofs, vehicles and crops, and a single severe storm can generate an insurance loss across a metropolitan area without a single injury.
For Buffalo County the two measures on this page point the same way: Hail 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
Buffalo County's closest FEMA peer: Thomas County, GA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Buffalo County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Buffalo County: NRI composite 66.0 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Buffalo County: 16 of 18 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Buffalo 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 Buffalo County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Buffalo 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: 66.0 (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
Buffalo County's NFIP claims file (64 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 Buffalo County?
The most common disaster type in Buffalo County is Severe Storm, with 10 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (4), Biological (2), Hurricane (1).
How does Buffalo County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Nebraska average?
FEMA lists 18 declaration records for Buffalo County. That is 7% above the Nebraska county mean of 16.8. Its count is also 13% below 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 Buffalo County received?
Buffalo County has received 16 major disaster declarations, representing 89% of all 18 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Buffalo County filed?
Buffalo County has 64 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $7.2M in payments, with an average of $112.2K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Buffalo County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Buffalo County was 2005, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1967 to 2022.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Buffalo County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Buffalo County, Nebraska has an overall risk score of 66.0 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Very Low and community resilience is Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $37.4M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Buffalo County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Buffalo County as of the latest release is Hail (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Strong Wind (Relatively High) and Drought (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hail here at an average of 7 times per year, drawn from 264 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 Buffalo County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Nebraska profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events