FEMA Records
39
Very high volume
California · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Butte County, CA
39 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Fire.
- 39
- FEMA declarations
- 20
- Major disasters
- 94
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Fire
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Butte County. Its 39 FEMA declarations are 37% above the California county mean and exceed the count for 96% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 6%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 6%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 39
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 335
- 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 06007 · Butte County 39 declarations · rank 129/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-MID · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 39
- MAJOR-MID 51%
- RANK-UPPER #129
- PHOTO-FINISH Canadian
- NRI-MID 94
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Fire
- VS-ST-ABOVE +37%
Nearest declaration peer: Canadian, OK (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · California state profile
Butte County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Butte County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Butte · this county
Butte · this county
39 declarations
- Canadian · near
Canadian · near
39 declarations
- Delaware · near
Delaware · near
39 declarations
- Orange · near
Orange · near
39 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Butte County carries 39 FEMA declaration records, ranked 129 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Butte County ranks in the national declaration registry
Butte County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Butte County
39 Top 4% higher than 96% 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
Butte County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Butte County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $48.2M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Drought carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Very 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 Butte County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 335 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 $21.5K 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. Butte County's 39 federal records stand 37% above the California county mean of 28.5. 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 sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 93.9/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $127.2M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Moderate and community resilience Relatively High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Drought stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at 67 modeled event-days per year here, based on 2,303 historical events on record.
78 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Butte County, CA · 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) Very High
28/30
39 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.9x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
17/25
39 declarations (1.4x state county average of 29)
Major Disaster Share High
13/25
20 of 39 declarations are major disasters (51%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
9 different disaster types declared in Butte County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Butte 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
51%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
94
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Butte 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Drought | Very High | 67 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively High | roughly once every 200 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | an average of 21 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 25 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 6.9 modeled event-days per year |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | roughly once every 909 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 12 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | roughly once every 9 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 11 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 64 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Fire 17
Severe Storm 9
Flood 6
Biological 2
Dam/Levee Break 1
Hurricane 1
Freezing 1
Coastal Storm 1
Drought 1
What Fire declarations mean here
Fire is the most frequent declaration type on Butte County's record, 44% of its declarations. Wildfire is the one hazard here with its own dedicated federal instrument: the Fire Management Assistance Grant, which appears in this data as an FM record. An FMAG can be authorised while a fire is still burning, on a timescale of hours, because its purpose is to reimburse the cost of fighting a fire that threatens to become a major disaster.
That distinction matters when comparing counties. An FM declaration is not a presidential major disaster declaration and does not carry the same assistance programmes, so a fire-heavy county's total is not directly comparable with a hurricane-heavy county's total unless the declaration types are separated, which is why they are listed separately on this page.
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 - 20 51.3%
of all 39 declarations
Fire Management - 11 28.2%
of all 39 declarations
Emergency - 8 20.5%
of all 39 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | |
| 2023 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2019 | 4 | |
| 2018 | 3 | |
| 2017 | 4 | |
| 2008 | 4 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 2 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
Show 5 earlier declaration years
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 39 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 39 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5519 | PARK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-07-25 |
| 5502 | THOMPSON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-07-02 |
| 4769 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-04-13 |
| 4699 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-04-03 |
| 3592 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | EM | Flood | 2023-03-10 |
| 4683 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2023-01-14 |
| 5363 | BEAR FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-09-09 |
| 4558 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2020-08-22 |
| 4482 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-22 |
| 3428 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4434 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-05-17 |
| 4407 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2018-11-12 |
| 3409 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2018-11-09 |
| 5278 | CAMP FIRE | FM | Fire | 2018-11-08 |
| 4344 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2017-10-10 |
| 5218 | LA PORTE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-10-09 |
| 5216 | CASCADE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-10-09 |
| 5189 | WALL FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-07-09 |
| 4308 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2017-04-01 |
| 4301 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2017-02-14 |
Show 19 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3381 | POTENTIAL FAILURE OF THE EMERGENCY SPILLWAY AT OROVILLE LAKE | EM | Dam/Levee Break | 2017-02-14 |
| 2782 | CAMP FIRE | FM | Fire | 2008-07-08 |
| 3287 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2008-06-28 |
| 2771 | HUMBOLDT FIRE | FM | Fire | 2008-06-11 |
| 2770 | OPHIR FIRE | FM | Fire | 2008-06-10 |
| 1628 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-02-03 |
| 3248 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 2545 | CA OREGON FIRE 08-11-2004 | FM | Fire | 2004-08-11 |
| 3140 | CA-WILDFIRES-08/25/1999 | EM | Fire | 1999-09-01 |
| 1203 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-02-09 |
| 1155 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUD AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-01-04 |
| 1046 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING LANDSLIDES, MUD FLOW | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-03-12 |
| 1044 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, MUD FLOWS | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-01-10 |
| 894 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 1991-02-11 |
| 758 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1986-02-21 |
| 677 | COASTAL STORMS, FLOODS, SLIDES & TORNADOES | DR | Coastal Storm | 1983-02-09 |
| 3023 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-01-20 |
| 283 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1970-02-16 |
| 183 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1964-12-24 |
Storm Events in California
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Butte County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind | 4,070 | 13 | 27 | $228.2M |
| Flood | 3,132 | 26 | 25 | $985.1M |
| Heavy Snow | 1,814 | 6 | 0 | $1.6M |
| Dense Fog | 1,605 | 52 | 148 | $2.8M |
| Drought | 1,421 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
335
Total Paid
$7.2M
Avg Per Claim
$21.5K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 93.9/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$127.2M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Very High
Wildfire Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Volcanic Activity Very Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Avalanche Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Cold Wave 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: Drought
Drought is the slowest of the modeled hazards and the least visible: it does its damage to agriculture, water supply and soil over seasons rather than hours, so it rarely produces the kind of single-day damage that drives a disaster declaration. FEMA scores it in event-days per year rather than discrete events for exactly that reason.
Worth noting for Butte County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Drought carries the highest modeled rating (Very High), while the county's declaration history is led by Fire. 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
Butte County's closest FEMA peer: Orleans Parish, LA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Butte County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Butte County shows 39 FEMA declarations, led by Fire.
Similar Major-disaster share
Butte County: 20 of 39 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Butte County: NRI composite 93.9 (Relatively Moderate).
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 Butte County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Butte 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: 93.9 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 39. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Butte County's NFIP claims file (335 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 Butte County?
The most common disaster type in Butte County is Fire, with 17 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (9), Flood (6), Biological (2).
How does Butte County's FEMA declaration record compare with the California average?
FEMA lists 39 declaration records for Butte County. That is 37% above the California county mean of 28.5. Its count is also 88% 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 Butte County received?
Butte County has received 20 major disaster declarations, representing 51% of all 39 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Butte County filed?
Butte County has 335 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $7.2M in payments, with an average of $21.5K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Butte County?
No. In Butte County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $48.2M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Butte County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Butte County was 2008, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Butte County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Butte County, California has an overall risk score of 93.9 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Moderate and community resilience is Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $127.2M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Butte County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Butte County is Drought (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Wildfire (Relatively High) and Landslide (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 67 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 2,303 historical events on record. 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Butte County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · California profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events