FEMA Records
28
High volume
Alabama · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Butler County, AL
28 FEMA disaster declarations (1977-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 28
- FEMA declarations
- 16
- Major disasters
- 45
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Butler County. Its 28 FEMA declarations are 8% above the Alabama county mean and exceed the count for 81% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it safer than 45%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Safer than 45%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 28
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 3
- 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 01013 · Butler County 28 declarations · rank 514/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 28
- MAJOR-MID 57%
- RANK-MID #514
- PHOTO-FINISH Loíza
- NRI-LOW 45
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +8%
Nearest declaration peer: Loíza, PR (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Alabama state profile
Butler County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Butler County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Butler · this county 28
Butler · this county
28 declarations
- Hertford · near 28
Hertford · near
28 declarations
- Loíza · near 28
Loíza · near
28 declarations
- Maunabo · near 28
Maunabo · near
28 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Butler County carries 28 FEMA declaration records, ranked 514 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Butler County ranks in the national declaration registry
Butler County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Butler County
28 Top 19% higher than 81% 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
Butler County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does Butler County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 45.2/100 for this county (Relatively Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Very Low (roughly $9.4M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Very High) and community resilience (Relatively Moderate) both factor into how that raw exposure plays out on the ground. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Hurricane carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 8 years here, based on 34 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 3 claims and $9.9K paid in total. PlainHazard calls 1-49 claims a light registry record, a label for this dataset rather than a finding that flood exposure is low. A short claims history can also reflect insurance take-up, the period covered, or losses that were never insured.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Butler County's 28 federal records stand 8% above the Alabama county mean of 25.8. 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.
61 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Butler County, AL · 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
20/30
28 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
14/25
28 declarations (1.1x state county average of 26)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
16 of 28 declarations are major disasters (57%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Butler County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Butler 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
57%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
45
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Butler 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 | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 8 years |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 72 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.8 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 6.4 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 751 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 20 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 2,165 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 1.7 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | an average of 1 time per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 14
Severe Storm 10
Biological 2
Snowstorm 1
Drought 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Butler County's federal record, 50% 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 - 16 57.1%
of all 28 declarations
Emergency - 12 42.9%
of all 28 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 5 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
Show 5 earlier declaration years
| 1998 | 3 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 28 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 28 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3618 | HURRICANE HELENE | EM | Hurricane | 2024-09-26 |
| 4573 | HURRICANE ZETA | DR | Hurricane | 2020-12-10 |
| 4563 | HURRICANE SALLY | DR | Hurricane | 2020-09-20 |
| 3545 | HURRICANE SALLY | EM | Hurricane | 2020-09-14 |
| 4546 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2020-05-21 |
| 4503 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-29 |
| 3472 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3407 | HURRICANE MICHAEL | EM | Hurricane | 2018-10-12 |
| 3394 | HURRICANE NATE | EM | Hurricane | 2017-10-08 |
| 3389 | HURRICANE IRMA | EM | Hurricane | 2017-09-11 |
| 4251 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2016-01-21 |
| 4176 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2014-05-02 |
| 1971 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-04-28 |
| 3319 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | EM | Severe Storm | 2011-04-27 |
| 1870 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-12-31 |
| 1835 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, TORNADOES & STRAIGHT-LINE | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-04-28 |
| 3292 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM | Hurricane | 2008-08-30 |
| 3237 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-10 |
| 1593 | HURRICANE DENNIS | DR | Hurricane | 2005-07-10 |
| 1549 | HURRICANE IVAN | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-15 |
Show 8 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1399 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-12-07 |
| 1250 | HURRICANE GEORGES - 18 SEP 98 | DR | Hurricane | 1998-09-30 |
| 3133 | HURRICANE GEORGES | EM | Hurricane | 1998-09-28 |
| 1208 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-03-09 |
| 1070 | HURRICANE OPAL | DR | Hurricane | 1995-10-04 |
| 3096 | SEVERE SNOWFALL, WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-15 |
| 861 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1990-03-21 |
| 3045 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-07-20 |
Storm Events in Alabama
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Butler County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,827 | 16 | 115 | $51.7M |
| Hail | 1,349 | 0 | 0 | $5.0K |
| Flash Flood | 1,047 | 17 | 7 | $12.8M |
| Tornado | 896 | 57 | 343 | $49.7M |
| Drought | 857 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
3
Total Paid
$9.9K
Avg Per Claim
$3.3K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 45.2/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$9.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Drought Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Hail Very Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Winter Weather 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: 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 Butler County the two measures on this page point the same way: Hurricane is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively Moderate), 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
Butler County's closest FEMA peer: Beaver County, OK
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Butler County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Butler County shows 28 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Butler County: 16 of 28 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Butler County: NRI composite 45.2 (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 Butler County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Butler 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: 45.2 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 28. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 28 FEMA declarations, Butler County sits in the high-volume declaration band - see how that count ranks against other U.S. counties.
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 Butler County?
The most common disaster type in Butler County is Hurricane, with 14 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (10), Biological (2), Snowstorm (1).
How does Butler County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Alabama average?
FEMA lists 28 declaration records for Butler County. That is 8% above the Alabama county mean of 25.8. Its count is also 35% 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 Butler County received?
Butler County has received 16 major disaster declarations, representing 57% of all 28 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Butler County filed?
Butler County has 3 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $9.9K in payments, with an average of $3.3K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Butler County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Butler County was 2020, with 5 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1977 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Butler County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Butler County, Alabama has an overall risk score of 45.2 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Very High; on community resilience, Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $9.4M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Butler County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Butler County is Hurricane (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Lightning (Relatively High) and Strong Wind (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hurricane here at roughly once every 8 years, drawn from 34 historical events on record. FEMA derives these ratings from historical event frequency, the assets exposed, and the community's vulnerability profile.
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 Butler County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Alabama profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events