FEMA Records
23
Above median
Texas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Chambers County, TX
23 FEMA disaster declarations (1979-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 23
- FEMA declarations
- 13
- Major disasters
- 52
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Chambers County. Its 23 FEMA declarations are 10% above the Texas county mean and exceed the count for 62% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 48%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 48%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 23
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 2,096
- 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 48071 · Chambers County 23 declarations · rank 1161/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 23
- MAJOR-MID 57%
- RANK-LOWER #1,161
- PHOTO-FINISH Roanoke
- NRI-LOW 52
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +10%
Nearest declaration peer: Roanoke, VA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Texas state profile
Chambers County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Chambers County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Amherst · near 23
Amherst · near
23 declarations
- Chambers · this county 23
Chambers · this county
23 declarations
- Roanoke · near 23
Roanoke · near
23 declarations
- Vance · near 23
Vance · near
23 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Chambers County carries 23 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1161 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Chambers County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Chambers County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Chambers County
23 Top 38% higher than 62% 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
Chambers County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Chambers County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $11.0M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Hurricane carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate). 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 Chambers County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 2,096 claims and $129.7M in payments. PlainHazard labels 500 or more claims a heavy registry record; that is a reporting bucket, not an official FEMA risk grade. The average paid claim was $61.9K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Chambers County's 23 federal records stand 10% above the Texas county mean of 20.9. 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 carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 51.8/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $30.4M in annualized losses), and a Very Low social-vulnerability profile combined with Very High community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. 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 5 years here, based on 76 historical events on record.
65 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Chambers County, TX · 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
17/30
23 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.1x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
14/25
23 declarations (1.1x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
13 of 23 declarations are major disasters (57%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Chambers County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Chambers 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
52
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Chambers 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 5 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 159 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 75 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 20 modeled event-days per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 3.8 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 14 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 1.9 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,795 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 17 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 11
Flood 3
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Fire 2
Other 1
Coastal Storm 1
Severe Storm 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Chambers County's federal record, 48% 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 - 13 56.5%
of all 23 declarations
Emergency - 10 43.5%
of all 23 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 3 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 23 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 23 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4798 | HURRICANE BERYL | DR | Hurricane | 2024-07-09 |
| 4586 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-19 |
| 3554 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-14 |
| 3540 | TROPICAL STORMS MARCO AND LAURA | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-24 |
| 4485 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3458 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4466 | TROPICAL STORM IMELDA | DR | Flood | 2019-10-04 |
| 4332 | HURRICANE HARVEY | DR | Hurricane | 2017-08-25 |
| 1791 | HURRICANE IKE | DR | Hurricane | 2008-09-13 |
| 3294 | HURRICANE IKE | EM | Hurricane | 2008-09-10 |
| 3290 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM | Hurricane | 2008-08-29 |
| 3277 | HURRICANE DEAN | EM | Hurricane | 2007-08-18 |
| 1624 | EXTREME WILDFIRE THREAT | DR | Fire | 2006-01-11 |
| 1606 | HURRICANE RITA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-09-24 |
| 3261 | HURRICANE RITA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-21 |
| 3216 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-02 |
| 3171 | LOSS OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA | EM | Other | 2003-02-01 |
| 1379 | TX-TROPICAL STORM ALLISON-06-06-2001 | DR | Coastal Storm | 2001-06-09 |
| 3142 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARDS | EM | Fire | 1999-09-01 |
| 1239 | TROPICAL STORM CHARLEY | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-08-26 |
Show 3 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1041 | SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1994-10-18 |
| 689 | HURRICANE ALICIA | DR | Hurricane | 1983-08-19 |
| 595 | STORMS & FLASH FLOODS | DR | Flood | 1979-07-28 |
Storm Events in Texas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Chambers County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 14,072 | 0 | 15 | $7.4B |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 10,293 | 41 | 141 | $369.9M |
| Drought | 7,032 | 0 | 0 | $86.0K |
| Flash Flood | 4,728 | 338 | 24 | $47.6B |
| Heat | 4,079 | 119 | 405 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
2,096
Total Paid
$129.7M
Avg Per Claim
$61.9K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 51.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$30.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Coastal Flooding Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Hail Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Winter Weather Very Low
Landslide 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 Chambers 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
Chambers County's closest FEMA peer: Gila County, AZ
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Chambers County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Chambers County shows 23 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Chambers County: 13 of 23 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Chambers County: NRI composite 51.8 (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 Chambers County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Chambers 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: 51.8 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 23. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Chambers County's NFIP claims file (2,096 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 Chambers County?
The most common disaster type in Chambers County is Hurricane, with 11 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (3), Severe Ice Storm (2), Biological (2).
How does Chambers County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Texas average?
FEMA lists 23 declaration records for Chambers County. That is 10% above the Texas county mean of 20.9. Its count is also 11% 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 Chambers County received?
Chambers County has received 13 major disaster declarations, representing 57% of all 23 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Chambers County filed?
Chambers County has 2,096 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $129.7M in payments, with an average of $61.9K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Chambers County?
No. In Chambers County, Hurricane has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $11.0M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Chambers County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Chambers County was 2020, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1979 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Chambers County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Chambers County, Texas has an overall risk score of 51.8 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Very Low; on community resilience, Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $30.4M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Chambers County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Chambers County is Hurricane (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Wildfire (Relatively Low) and Tornado (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hurricane here at roughly once every 5 years, drawn from 76 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 Chambers County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Texas profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events