FEMA Records
43
Very high volume
Florida · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Calhoun County, FL
43 FEMA disaster declarations (1986-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 43
- FEMA declarations
- 26
- Major disasters
- 45
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Calhoun County. Its 43 FEMA declarations are 7% above the Florida county mean and exceed the count for 98% 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
- 43
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 142
- 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 12013 · Calhoun County 43 declarations · rank 65/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 43
- MAJOR-MID 60%
- RANK-UPPER #65
- PHOTO-FINISH Iberia
- NRI-LOW 45
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +7%
Nearest declaration peer: Iberia, LA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Florida state profile
Calhoun County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Calhoun County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Calhoun · this county
Calhoun · this county
43 declarations
- Cleveland · near
Cleveland · near
43 declarations
- Iberia · near
Iberia · near
43 declarations
- Santa Barbara · near
Santa Barbara · near
43 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Calhoun County carries 43 FEMA declaration records, ranked 65 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Calhoun County ranks in the national declaration registry
Calhoun County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Calhoun County
43 Top 2% higher than 98% 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
Calhoun County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does Calhoun County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 142 paid claims, totaling $2.1M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $14.7K 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. Calhoun County's 43 federal records stand 7% above the Florida county mean of 40.4. 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
FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 44.9/100 for this county (Relatively Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Very Low (roughly $10.6M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Relatively High) and community resilience (Very Low) 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 4 years here, based on 74 historical events on record.
76 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Calhoun County, FL · 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
30/30
43 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.1x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
13/25
43 declarations (1.1x state county average of 40)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
26 of 43 declarations are major disasters (60%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Calhoun County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Calhoun 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
60%
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 Calhoun 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 4 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 84 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 592 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 24 modeled event-days per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 7 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 1.7 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,166 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 13 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | roughly once every 6 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 22
Severe Storm 8
Tropical Storm 4
Fire 4
Biological 2
Flood 2
Tornado 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Calhoun County's federal record, 51% 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 - 26 60.5%
of all 43 declarations
Emergency - 15 34.9%
of all 43 declarations
Fire Management - 2 4.7%
of all 43 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | |
| 2023 | 3 | |
| 2022 | 3 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2019 | 3 | |
| 2017 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 3 | |
| 2001 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 4 | |
Show 5 earlier declaration years
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 2 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 43 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 43 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4828 | HURRICANE HELENE | DR | Hurricane | 2024-09-28 |
| 3615 | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-24 |
| 4806 | HURRICANE DEBBY | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-10 |
| 3605 | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-03 |
| 4734 | HURRICANE IDALIA | DR | Hurricane | 2023-08-31 |
| 3596 | TROPICAL STORM IDALIA | EM | Tropical Storm | 2023-08-28 |
| 4680 | HURRICANE NICOLE | DR | Hurricane | 2022-12-13 |
| 4673 | HURRICANE IAN | DR | Hurricane | 2022-09-29 |
| 3584 | TROPICAL STORM IAN | EM | Hurricane | 2022-09-24 |
| 5426 | CHIPOLA FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2022-03-06 |
| 3562 | TROPICAL STORM FRED | EM | Hurricane | 2021-08-16 |
| 4564 | HURRICANE SALLY | DR | Hurricane | 2020-09-23 |
| 3546 | HURRICANE SALLY | EM | Hurricane | 2020-09-15 |
| 4486 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3432 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3419 | HURRICANE DORIAN | EM | Hurricane | 2019-08-30 |
| 4399 | HURRICANE MICHAEL | DR | Hurricane | 2018-10-11 |
| 3405 | HURRICANE MICHAEL | EM | Hurricane | 2018-10-09 |
| 4337 | HURRICANE IRMA | DR | Hurricane | 2017-09-10 |
| 3385 | HURRICANE IRMA | EM | Hurricane | 2017-09-05 |
Show 23 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4177 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2014-05-06 |
| 1831 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-04-21 |
| 1785 | TROPICAL STORM FAY | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-08-24 |
| 3288 | TROPICAL STORM FAY | EM | Severe Storm | 2008-08-21 |
| 3220 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1595 | HURRICANE DENNIS | DR | Hurricane | 2005-07-10 |
| 1551 | HURRICANE IVAN | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-16 |
| 1545 | HURRICANE FRANCES | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-04 |
| 1539 | TROPICAL STORM BONNIE AND HURRICANE CHARLEY | DR | Hurricane | 2004-08-13 |
| 1381 | TROPICAL STORM ALLISON | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-06-17 |
| 1344 | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-10-03 |
| 3139 | FL-FIRES 04/15/99 | EM | Fire | 1999-04-27 |
| 2255 | FL-FIRES 04/13/99 | FM | Fire | 1999-04-17 |
| 1249 | HURRICANE GEORGES | DR | Hurricane | 1998-09-28 |
| 3131 | HURRICANE GRORGES | EM | Hurricane | 1998-09-25 |
| 1223 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | DR | Fire | 1998-06-18 |
| 1195 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-01-06 |
| 1069 | HURRICANE OPAL | DR | Hurricane | 1995-10-04 |
| 1035 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING (TROPICAL STORM ALBERTO) | DR | Severe Storm | 1994-07-10 |
| 3114 | TROPICAL STORM ALBERTO | EM | Flood | 1994-07-08 |
| 982 | TORNADOES, FLOODING, HIGH WINDS & TIDES, FREEZING | DR | Tornado | 1993-03-13 |
| 862 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1990-04-03 |
| 756 | HURRICANE KATE | DR | Hurricane | 1985-12-03 |
Storm Events in Florida
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Calhoun County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5,243 | 17 | 45 | $24.8M |
| Hail | 1,012 | 0 | 0 | $564.6K |
| Heavy Rain | 865 | 2 | 3 | $200.0K |
| Flood | 826 | 9 | 0 | $2.0B |
| Tropical Storm | 767 | 92 | 6 | $4.9B |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
142
Total Paid
$2.1M
Avg Per Claim
$14.7K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 44.9/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$10.6M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Coastal Flooding Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Hail 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 Calhoun 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
Calhoun County's closest FEMA peer: Santa Barbara County, CA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Calhoun County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Calhoun County shows 43 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Calhoun County: 26 of 43 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Calhoun County: NRI composite 44.9 (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 Calhoun County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Calhoun 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: 44.9 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 43. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Calhoun County's NFIP claims file (142 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 Calhoun County?
The most common disaster type in Calhoun County is Hurricane, with 22 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (8), Tropical Storm (4), Fire (4).
How does Calhoun County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Florida average?
FEMA lists 43 declaration records for Calhoun County. That is 7% above the Florida county mean of 40.4. Its count is also 108% 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 Calhoun County received?
Calhoun County has received 26 major disaster declarations, representing 60% of all 43 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Calhoun County filed?
Calhoun County has 142 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $2.1M in payments, with an average of $14.7K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Calhoun County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Calhoun County was 1998, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1986 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Calhoun County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Calhoun County, Florida has an overall risk score of 44.9 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively High; on community resilience, Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $10.6M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Calhoun County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Calhoun County as of the latest release is Hurricane (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Lightning (Relatively Moderate) and Wildfire (Very Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hurricane here at roughly once every 4 years, drawn from 74 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 Calhoun County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Florida profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events