FEMA Records
30
High volume
Washington · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Clallam County, WA
30 FEMA disaster declarations (1980-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 30
- FEMA declarations
- 27
- Major disasters
- 90
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Clallam County. Its 30 FEMA declarations are 21% above the Washington county mean and exceed the count for 86% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 10%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 10%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 30
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 101
- 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 53009 · Clallam County 30 declarations · rank 393/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-HEAVY · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-MID · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 30
- MAJOR-HEAVY 90%
- RANK-MID #393
- PHOTO-FINISH Jefferson
- NRI-MID 90
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +21%
Nearest declaration peer: Jefferson, OK (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Washington state profile
Clallam County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Clallam County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Clallam · this county 30
Clallam · this county
30 declarations
- Jefferson · near 30
Jefferson · near
30 declarations
- Latimer · near 30
Latimer · near
30 declarations
- Pamlico · near 30
Pamlico · near
30 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Clallam County carries 30 FEMA declaration records, ranked 393 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Clallam County ranks in the national declaration registry
Clallam County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Clallam County
30 Top 14% higher than 86% 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
Clallam County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does Clallam County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 101 paid claims, totaling $1.2M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $11.8K 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. Clallam County's 30 federal records stand 21% above the Washington county mean of 24.9. 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 sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 89.7/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $63.1M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively High and community resilience Relatively High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Earthquake carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 26 years here.
78 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Clallam County, WA · 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
22/30
30 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
15/25
30 declarations (1.2x state county average of 25)
Major Disaster Share Very High
23/25
27 of 30 declarations are major disasters (90%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Clallam County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Clallam 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
90%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
90
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Clallam 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 26 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 13 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | an average of 7.2 times per year |
| Tsunami | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 8 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 5 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 9 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 3.6 times per year |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 1.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 15,234 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 16 years |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 3.2 times per year |
| Drought | Very Low | 0.8 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 41 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 390 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 406 years |
| Volcanic Activity | No Rating | roughly once every 10,000 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 14
Flood 10
Biological 2
Coastal Storm 1
Earthquake 1
Fishing Losses 1
Volcanic Eruption 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Clallam County's record, 47% 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 - 27 90.0%
of all 30 declarations
Emergency - 3 10.0%
of all 30 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 3 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
Show 7 earlier declaration years
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 2 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 30 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 30 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4906 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2026-04-07 |
| 3629 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | EM | Flood | 2025-12-12 |
| 4775 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-04-28 |
| 4682 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-01-12 |
| 4650 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, SNOWSTORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2022-03-29 |
| 4635 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2022-01-05 |
| 4593 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2021-04-08 |
| 4481 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-22 |
| 3427 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4418 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, MUDSLIDES, TORNADO | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-03-04 |
| 4253 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, MUDSLIDES, AND A T | DR | Flood | 2016-02-02 |
| 4249 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2016-01-15 |
| 4242 | SEVERE WINDSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-10-15 |
| 4056 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-03-05 |
| 1825 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND RECORD AND NEAR RECORD SNOW | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-03-02 |
| 1817 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, LANDSLIDES, MUDSLIDES, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2009-01-30 |
| 1734 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-12-08 |
| 1682 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-02-14 |
| 1641 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, TIDAL SURGE, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-05-17 |
| 3227 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Coastal Storm | 2005-09-07 |
Show 10 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1499 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-11-07 |
| 1361 | EARTHQUAKE | DR | Earthquake | 2001-03-01 |
| 1172 | HEAVY RAINS, SNOW MELT, FLOODING, LAND & MUD SLIDES | DR | Flood | 1997-04-02 |
| 1159 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, LAND & MUDS SLIDES,FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-01-17 |
| 1079 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH WIND, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1996-01-03 |
| 1037 | THE EL NINO (THE SALMON INDUSTRY) | DR | Fishing Losses | 1994-08-02 |
| 883 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1990-11-26 |
| 757 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1986-02-15 |
| 623 | VOLCANIC ERUPTION, MT. ST. HELENS | DR | Volcanic Eruption | 1980-05-21 |
| 612 | STORMS, HIGH TIDES, MUDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1979-12-31 |
Storm Events in Washington
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Clallam County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Snow | 1,700 | 5 | 7 | $2.3M |
| High Wind | 614 | 15 | 6 | $1.1B |
| Wildfire | 299 | 4 | 4 | $1.8B |
| Winter Weather | 259 | 9 | 62 | $1.1M |
| Flood | 231 | 4 | 0 | $391.2M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
101
Total Paid
$1.2M
Avg Per Claim
$11.8K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 89.7/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$63.1M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Low
Tsunami Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Coastal Flooding Relatively Low
Avalanche Very Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Lightning Very Low
Drought Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Hail Very Low
Volcanic Activity 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: Earthquake
Earthquake is the model's clearest example of a hazard with no season and no warning. Its expected loss is driven less by how often shaking occurs than by how much of the building stock predates modern seismic codes, so exposure can be high in places where nothing has happened for a long time.
Worth noting for Clallam County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Earthquake carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), 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
Clallam County's closest FEMA peer: Kittson County, MN
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Clallam County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Clallam County shows 30 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Clallam County: 27 of 30 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Clallam County: NRI composite 89.7 (Relatively Moderate).
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 Clallam County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Clallam 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: 89.7 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 30. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Clallam County's NFIP claims file (101 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 Clallam County?
The most common disaster type in Clallam County is Severe Storm, with 14 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (10), Biological (2), Coastal Storm (1).
How does Clallam County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Washington average?
FEMA lists 30 declaration records for Clallam County. That is 21% above the Washington county mean of 24.9. Its count is also 45% 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 Clallam County received?
Clallam County has received 27 major disaster declarations, representing 90% of all 30 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Clallam County filed?
Clallam County has 101 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $1.2M in payments, with an average of $11.8K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Clallam County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Clallam County was 2016, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1980 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Clallam County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Clallam County, Washington has an overall risk score of 89.7 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively High and community resilience is Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $63.1M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Clallam County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Clallam County is Earthquake (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Winter Weather (Relatively High) and Landslide (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts earthquake here at roughly once every 26 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Clallam County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Washington profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events