FEMA Records
12
Low volume
New Mexico · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Catron County, NM
12 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 12
- FEMA declarations
- 7
- Major disasters
- 37
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Catron County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 12 declarations, more than 14% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 4% below the New Mexico county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county safer than 37%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Safer than 37%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 12
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 5
- 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.
How does Catron County compare?
Catron County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
12 14th percentile higher than 14% 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 · 2026-08-03
Catron County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the New Mexico county average
What does Catron County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 36.6/100 for this county (Very Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Very Low (roughly $6.8M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Very High) and community resilience (Very Low) both factor into how that raw exposure plays out on the ground. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Wildfire carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 98 years here.
Declaration frequency
Nationally, Catron County's 12 FEMA records form a high-volume history; within New Mexico, however, the count is 4% below the county mean. 7 entries carry the Major Disaster classification. The largest incident group is Flood, appearing 6 times. The full 47-year record averages 0.3 declarations annually. A DR label alone does not say whether Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both followed.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 5 claims and $168.1K 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.
Start with the state benchmark: a New Mexico county averages 12.5 federal declaration records, while Catron County has 12. The gap is 4% below that mean. Fewer entries indicate a quieter history of recorded federal actions, not immunity from a hazard and not a prediction about what happens next.
46 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Catron County, NM · 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
9/30
12 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.6x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
12/25
12 declarations (1.0x state county average of 12)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
7 of 12 declarations are major disasters (58%)
Hazard Diversity High
10/20
4 different disaster types declared in Catron County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. New Mexico Avg
-4%
State avg: 12.5
vs. National Avg
-42%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.3
Over 47 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Catron 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
58%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
37
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Catron 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 98 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.8 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 65 times per year |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | roughly once every 5,000 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 13 times per year |
| Drought | Very Low | 106 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 515 years |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | roughly once every 19 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 0.4 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 11 years |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 67 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 17 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 22 years |
| Hurricane | No Rating | roughly once every 1,057 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 6
Fire 3
Biological 2
Hurricane 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Catron County's record, 50% of its declarations. Federal flood declarations cover two mechanisms that behave very differently: riverine flooding, which builds over days as a watershed drains and is usually forecast well in advance, and flash flooding, which can arrive in under an hour from rainfall that fell somewhere upstream.
Flood is also the one hazard class where a second federal dataset exists for the same events. The National Flood Insurance Program records what was actually paid on insured losses, so it measures a narrower thing than the declaration count: uninsured damage, and flooding outside mapped special flood hazard areas, never enters it. Reading the two together is more informative than either alone.
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 - 7 58.3%
of all 12 declarations
Emergency - 3 25.0%
of all 12 declarations
Fire Management - 2 16.7%
of all 12 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1985 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 12 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 12 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4529 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-05 |
| 3460 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4152 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2013-10-29 |
| 2978 | WHITEWATER-BALDY FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2012-05-26 |
| 2917 | WALLOW FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-06-10 |
| 3229 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-07 |
| 3154 | SEVERE FIRE THREATS | EM | Fire | 2000-05-10 |
| 992 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-06-07 |
| 731 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1985-01-18 |
| 692 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1983-10-24 |
| 571 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1979-01-29 |
| 361 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1972-11-20 |
Storm Events in New Mexico
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Catron County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drought | 3,382 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| High Wind | 2,351 | 0 | 3 | $18.9M |
| Hail | 1,669 | 1 | 24 | $17.2M |
| Heavy Snow | 986 | 6 | 72 | $2.5M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 952 | 1 | 13 | $25.1M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
5
Total Paid
$168.1K
Avg Per Claim
$33.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 36.6/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$6.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively High
Avalanche Very Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Volcanic Activity Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Drought Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Hail Very Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Hurricane 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: Wildfire
Wildfire risk in the model reflects fuel, terrain, weather and how much development sits in the wildland-urban interface. It is one of the few hazards where the exposure is materially changed by land management and building choices, not only by where the county happens to be.
Worth noting for Catron County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Wildfire carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), while the county's declaration history is led by Flood. 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
Catron County's closest FEMA peer: Dawes County, NE
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Catron County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Catron County shows 12 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
Similar Major-disaster share
Catron County: 7 of 12 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Catron County: NRI composite 36.6 (Very 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 Catron County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 12 FEMA declarations, Catron 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).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Catron County?
The most common disaster type in Catron County is Flood, with 6 declarations. Other disaster types include Fire (3), Biological (2), Hurricane (1).
How does Catron County's FEMA declaration record compare with the New Mexico average?
The typical New Mexico county has 12.5 FEMA declaration records; Catron County has 12, or 4% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 42% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Catron County received?
Catron County has received 7 major disaster declarations, representing 58% of all 12 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Catron County filed?
Catron County has 5 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $168.1K in payments, with an average of $33.6K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Catron County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Catron County was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Catron County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Catron County, New Mexico has an overall risk score of 36.6 out of 100 (Very Low). Social vulnerability here rates Very High, while community resilience comes in at Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $6.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Catron County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Catron County is Wildfire (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Landslide (Relatively Moderate) and Lightning (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts wildfire here at roughly once every 98 years. 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.
What this means for Catron County
Against a New Mexico county mean of 12 declarations, Catron County, NM records 12, or 4% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as high activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (7 of 12) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. New Mexico overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 14% of recorded county totals, but its own New Mexico benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. Most-disaster rankings
- A short NFIP claims file cannot establish low flood exposure; the data guide explains the limits of each federal measure. Disaster-data guide
A below-average federal record is not a safety guarantee. Use National Weather Service alerts and local emergency-management notices for present conditions, not this historical comparison.
PlainHazard derives this profile from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries and National Risk Index data. The declaration comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. 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 →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.