FEMA Records
33
Very high volume
New Hampshire · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Cheshire County, NH
33 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2023), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 33
- FEMA declarations
- 19
- Major disasters
- 60
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Cheshire County. Its 33 FEMA declarations are 3% above the New Hampshire county mean and exceed the count for 91% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 40%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 40%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 33
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 247
- 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 33005 · Cheshire County 33 declarations · rank 283/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 33
- MAJOR-MID 58%
- RANK-UPPER #283
- PHOTO-FINISH Nelson
- NRI-LOW 60
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +3%
Nearest declaration peer: Nelson, ND (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · New Hampshire state profile
Cheshire County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Cheshire County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Cheshire · this county 33
Cheshire · this county
33 declarations
- Garvin · near 33
Garvin · near
33 declarations
- Monterey · near 33
Monterey · near
33 declarations
- Nelson · near 33
Nelson · near
33 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Cheshire County carries 33 FEMA declaration records, ranked 283 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Cheshire County ranks in the national declaration registry
Cheshire County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Cheshire County
33 Top 9% higher than 91% 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
Cheshire County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Cheshire County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $20.3M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Landslide carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Low). 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 Cheshire County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 247 paid claims, totaling $6.7M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $27.1K 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. Cheshire County's 33 federal records stand 3% above the New Hampshire county mean of 31.9. 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, 60.5/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $27.3M in annualized losses), and a Very Low social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively High community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Even the county's top-rated hazard, Landslide, only reaches Relatively Low on FEMA's scale, none of the 18 modeled hazards stand out here. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 1.3 times per year here.
69 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Cheshire County, NH · 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
24/30
33 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.6x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
13/25
33 declarations (1.0x state county average of 32)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
19 of 33 declarations are major disasters (58%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Cheshire County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Cheshire 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
60
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Cheshire 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Landslide | Relatively Low | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 22 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.8 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 13 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 718 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 2.9 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 1.9 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 19 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 2.6 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 18,553 years |
| Drought | No Rating | 0.2 modeled event-days per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 10
Flood 8
Snowstorm 7
Hurricane 4
Biological 2
Fire 1
Severe Ice Storm 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Cheshire County's record, 30% of its declarations. In FEMA's vocabulary this covers convective weather: thunderstorm straight-line winds, large hail, and the multi-day outbreaks that often carry embedded tornadoes. Activity is heaviest in spring and summer, though the season varies by region.
These events behave differently from a hurricane on paper. Damage tends to be distributed along a storm track rather than concentrated on a coastline, and a declaration typically follows an outbreak that crossed several counties over a few days, not a single point of impact. Because the qualifying threshold is the cost of uninsured public and individual losses rather than storm intensity, two similar storms can produce a declaration in one year and none in another.
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 - 19 57.6%
of all 33 declarations
Emergency - 13 39.4%
of all 33 declarations
Fire Management - 1 3.0%
of all 33 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 3 | |
| 2012 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 4 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
Show 9 earlier declaration years
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 33 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 33 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4740 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2023-09-14 |
| 4624 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2021-10-04 |
| 4622 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2021-09-30 |
| 4516 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-03 |
| 3445 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 5123 | STODDARD FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-04-21 |
| 4139 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-08-02 |
| 4105 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-03-19 |
| 3360 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-30 |
| 4065 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-06-15 |
| 3344 | SEVERE STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2011-11-01 |
| 3333 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-27 |
| 1812 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2009-01-02 |
| 3297 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2008-12-13 |
| 1695 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-04-27 |
| 1610 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-10-26 |
| 3258 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-19 |
| 3211 | RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2005-04-28 |
| 3208 | RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2005-03-30 |
| 3207 | RECORD AND/OR NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2005-03-30 |
Show 13 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3193 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2004-01-15 |
| 1489 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-09-12 |
| 3177 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-03-11 |
| 3166 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2001-03-28 |
| 1305 | TROPICAL STORM FLOYD | DR | Hurricane | 1999-10-18 |
| 1199 | SEVERE ICE STORM, RAINS AND HIGH WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-01-15 |
| 1077 | EXCESSIVE RAINFALL, HIGH WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1996-01-03 |
| 3101 | BLIZZARDS, HIGH WINDS & RECORD SNOWFALL | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-16 |
| 876 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1990-08-29 |
| 789 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1987-04-16 |
| 771 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1986-08-27 |
| 411 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-01-21 |
| 399 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-07-11 |
Storm Events in New Hampshire
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Cheshire County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 921 | 3 | 48 | $1.9M |
| Heavy Snow | 344 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Winter Storm | 300 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Hail | 278 | 0 | 0 | $17.1K |
| Flash Flood | 256 | 0 | 1 | $26.9M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
247
Total Paid
$6.7M
Avg Per Claim
$27.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 60.5/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$27.3M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Landslide Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Very Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Avalanche Very Low
Hail Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Drought 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: Landslide
Landslide risk is a function of slope, soil and water, so it is usually a SECOND-ORDER hazard: it is triggered by the rainfall, snowmelt, wildfire burn scars or seismic shaking that came first. That is why a county can carry high landslide exposure whose realized damage is recorded under a flood or storm declaration instead.
Worth noting for Cheshire County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Landslide carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Low), while the county's declaration history is led by Severe Storm. 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
Cheshire County's closest FEMA peer: Ocean County, NJ
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Cheshire County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Cheshire County shows 33 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Cheshire County: 19 of 33 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Cheshire County: NRI composite 60.5 (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 Cheshire County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Cheshire 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: 60.5 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 33. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Cheshire County's NFIP claims file (247 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 Cheshire County?
The most common disaster type in Cheshire County is Severe Storm, with 10 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (8), Snowstorm (7), Hurricane (4).
How does Cheshire County's FEMA declaration record compare with the New Hampshire average?
FEMA lists 33 declaration records for Cheshire County. That is 3% above the New Hampshire county mean of 31.9. Its count is also 59% 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 Cheshire County received?
Cheshire County has received 19 major disaster declarations, representing 58% of all 33 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Cheshire County filed?
Cheshire County has 247 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $6.7M in payments, with an average of $27.1K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Cheshire County?
No. In Cheshire County, Landslide has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Low), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $20.3M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Cheshire County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Cheshire County was 2005, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2023.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Cheshire County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Cheshire County, New Hampshire has an overall risk score of 60.5 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Very Low, while community resilience comes in at Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $27.3M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Cheshire County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Cheshire County as of the latest release is Landslide (risk rating: Relatively Low). Other significant hazards include Lightning (Relatively Moderate) and Ice Storm (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts landslide here at an average of 1.3 times per year. 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Cheshire County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · New Hampshire profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events