FEMA Records
1
Total declarations
Missouri · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Cape Girardeau County, MO
1 FEMA disaster declarations (2025–2025), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 1
- FEMA declarations
- 1
- Major disasters
- 86
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
FEMA's National Risk Index places Cape Girardeau County in the top 14% of U.S. counties for overall natural-hazard risk, and its FEMA disaster-declaration count is higher than 0% of all 2,729 counties tracked.
How does Cape Girardeau County compare?
FEMA disaster declarations, this county versus the Missouri county average and the national county average.
- Cape Girardeau County
- 1
- Missouri county avg
- 2
- National county avg
- 3.7
How disaster-prone is Cape Girardeau County?
Cape Girardeau County, Missouri has recorded 1 FEMA disaster declarations between 2025 and 2025, of which 1 were classified as Major Disaster declarations (DR) requiring federal individual and public assistance. That puts the county's average at - declarations per year, or roughly 50% below the Missouri county average of 2.0 and 73% below the national county average of 3.7. Declaration counts reflect federal recognition of event severity, not pure hazard frequency — smaller incidents handled locally never appear in FEMA's ledger.
The dominant disaster type on record is Severe Storm, with 1 of 1 declarations falling under this category. FEMA's National Risk Index assigns this county an overall risk rating of Relatively Moderate (composite score 85.7/100), driven by an Expected Annual Loss rating of Relatively Moderate equivalent to roughly $68.0M in annualized losses. Social vulnerability scores Relatively Low and community resilience scores Very High — two factors that modify raw hazard exposure into actual harm. The single highest-risk natural hazard identified for this county is Earthquake (Relatively Moderate).
NFIP flood insurance claims data for this county is not present in the FEMA claims extract, which typically indicates either low historical flood activity or low policy penetration. Taken together, these indicators place Cape Girardeau County at a very low relative risk level for federally recognized disasters. Households should pair this historical lens with forward-looking hazard maps — flood zones, wildfire risk overlays, and seismic zones published by FEMA and state emergency management — before making preparedness, insurance, or relocation decisions.
Risk Assessment
How Cape Girardeau County's disaster history compares to state and national averages.
Risk Level
Very Low
vs. Missouri Avg
-50%
State avg: 2.0
vs. National Avg
-73%
National avg: 3.7
Avg Per Year
-
—
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar — Cape Girardeau County
The radar plots Cape Girardeau County's relative exposure to the eight headline natural hazards used by the FEMA National Risk Index. Each axis is the qualitative NRI risk rating (Very Low through Very High) re-expressed on a 0-100 scale so that the polygon shape lets you compare a county against another at a glance.
NRI Source
FEMA 2023
Latest NRI release
County FIPS
29031
MO state code
Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, 2023 release
Disaster Types
Breakdown of 1 FEMA disaster declarations in Cape Girardeau County by incident type.
Severe Storm 1
Declaration Types
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster — 1 100.0%
of all 1 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
Disaster declarations per year for Cape Girardeau County.
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
All 1 FEMA disaster declarations for Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4872 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2025-05-21 |
Storm Events in Missouri
NOAA severe weather data for Missouri (2015–2025). Storm event data is tracked at the state level.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,277 | 32 | 61 | $78.8M |
| Hail | 4,904 | 0 | 1 | $87.3M |
| Flash Flood | 2,644 | 49 | 14 | $414.1M |
| Flood | 1,929 | 26 | 7 | $304.8M |
| Drought | 1,158 | 0 | 350 | $90.8M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015–2025
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's composite risk score combining 18 natural hazard types, social vulnerability, and community resilience for Cape Girardeau County.
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 85.7/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$68.0M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Risk rating for each of the 18 FEMA NRI natural hazard types in Cape Girardeau County.
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Wildfire Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
Counties with Similar Risk in Missouri
Other Missouri counties with similar disaster declaration counts.
Disaster Preparedness Guides
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
How many natural disasters has Cape Girardeau County, Missouri had?
Cape Girardeau County, Missouri has received 1 FEMA disaster declarations from 2025 to 2025. Of these, 1 were major disaster declarations.
What is the most common disaster type in Cape Girardeau County?
The most common disaster type in Cape Girardeau County is Severe Storm, with 1 declaration.
How does Cape Girardeau County's disaster risk compare to the Missouri average?
Cape Girardeau County has 1 disaster declarations, which is 50% lower than the Missouri county average of 2.0 declarations. Compared to the national county average of 3.7, it is 73% lower.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Cape Girardeau County received?
Cape Girardeau County has received 1 major disaster declaration, representing 100% of all 1 disaster declarations. Major disaster declarations typically involve significant damage requiring federal assistance.
What types of storms are most common in Missouri?
The most common storm types in Missouri include Thunderstorm Wind (7,277 events), Hail (4,904 events), Flash Flood (2,644 events). NOAA storm event data covers severe weather from 2015 to 2025.
What is the overall disaster risk level for Cape Girardeau County?
Based on FEMA declaration history, Cape Girardeau County has a very low disaster risk level with 1 total declarations. This county has relatively few disaster declarations compared to the national average.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Cape Girardeau County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri has an overall risk score of 85.7 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Low and community resilience is Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $68.0M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Cape Girardeau County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Cape Girardeau County is Earthquake (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Ice Storm (Relatively High) and Heat Wave (Relatively Moderate). 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.
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.
What this means for Cape Girardeau County
Cape Girardeau County, MO has 1 FEMA disaster declarations on record — a very low historical disaster load, 50% below the Missouri county average.
- Its most common federal declaration type is major disaster (1 of 1) — know the hazards most likely here before they happen. Missouri overview
- See how this county ranks against the rest of the country for disaster frequency. Most-disaster rankings
- Read how to read FEMA declarations, NRI risk scores, and what they do and don't tell you. Disaster-data guide
Historical declaration counts describe past federal response, not a forecast. For current threats, follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FEMA OpenFEMA — Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 — all federally-declared disasters for this county. fema.gov/openfema/disaster-declarations
- FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) — per-county per-hazard risk ratings and expected annual loss. hazards.fema.gov/nri
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database — state-level storm/severe-weather event records, 2015–2025. ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents
Data sourced from $official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →