FEMA Records
19
Below median
South Dakota · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Clay County, SD
19 FEMA disaster declarations (1969-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 19
- FEMA declarations
- 16
- Major disasters
- 20
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Clay County. Its 19 FEMA declarations are 0% above the South Dakota county mean and exceed the count for 41% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it safer than 20%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Safer than 20%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 19
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 13
- 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 46027 · Clay County 19 declarations · rank 1805/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-HEAVY · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-MID 19
- MAJOR-HEAVY 84%
- RANK-LOWER #1,805
- PHOTO-FINISH Bartow
- NRI-LOW Very Low
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Flood
- VS-ST-ABOVE +0%
Nearest declaration peer: Bartow, GA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · South Dakota state profile
Clay County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Clay County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Bartow · near 19
Bartow · near
19 declarations
- Clay · this county 19
Clay · this county
19 declarations
- Union · near 19
Union · near
19 declarations
- Warren · near 19
Warren · near
19 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Clay County carries 19 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1805 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Clay County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Clay County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Clay County
19 41st percentile higher than 41% 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
Clay County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Clay County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $5.3M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very High), while Drought 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 Clay County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county's FEMA National Risk Index composite lands at 20.5/100 (Very Low), a modest reading against the rest of the country. Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $11.6M in annualized losses), tempered or compounded by a Very Low social-vulnerability score and Very High community-resilience score. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Drought carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at 31 modeled event-days per year here, based on 791 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 13 claims and $53.0K 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.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Clay County's 19 federal records stand 0% above the South Dakota county mean of 19.0. 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.
61 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Clay County, SD · 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
14/30
19 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.9x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
13/25
19 declarations (1.0x state county average of 19)
Major Disaster Share Very High
21/25
16 of 19 declarations are major disasters (84%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Clay County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Clay 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
84%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
20
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Clay 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 31 modeled event-days per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 15 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 6.5 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 1,244 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 39 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 21 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 4 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 6.6 modeled event-days per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | an average of 2.1 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | an average of 6.3 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,934 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 9
Severe Storm 6
Biological 2
Coastal Storm 1
Drought 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Clay County's record, 47% 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 - 16 84.2%
of all 19 declarations
Emergency - 3 15.8%
of all 19 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 2 | |
| 1995 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 19 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 19 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4807 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2024-08-15 |
| 4656 | SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2022-06-29 |
| 4527 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-05 |
| 3475 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4440 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2019-06-07 |
| 4186 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2014-07-28 |
| 1984 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2011-05-13 |
| 1938 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-09-23 |
| 1915 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2010-05-13 |
| 1886 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-03-09 |
| 1774 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-07-09 |
| 3234 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Coastal Storm | 2005-09-10 |
| 1173 | SEVERE FLOODING, SEVER WINTER STORMS,HEAVY RAINS HIGH WINDS | DR | Flood | 1997-04-07 |
| 1156 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND BLIZZARD CONDITIONS | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-01-10 |
| 1052 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1995-05-26 |
| 999 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1993-07-19 |
| 717 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1984-07-19 |
| 3015 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1976-06-17 |
| 257 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-04-18 |
Storm Events in South Dakota
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Clay County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5,388 | 7 | 21 | $10.7M |
| Hail | 4,801 | 0 | 3 | $4.5M |
| High Wind | 2,277 | 0 | 1 | $35.0K |
| Winter Weather | 2,125 | 20 | 50 | $133.0K |
| Flood | 1,523 | 5 | 0 | $196.2M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
13
Total Paid
$53.0K
Avg Per Claim
$4.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 20.5/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$11.6M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Earthquake 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: Drought
Drought is the slowest of the modeled hazards and the least visible: it does its damage to agriculture, water supply and soil over seasons rather than hours, so it rarely produces the kind of single-day damage that drives a disaster declaration. FEMA scores it in event-days per year rather than discrete events for exactly that reason.
Worth noting for Clay County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Drought 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
Clay County's closest FEMA peer: Greene County, IA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Clay County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Clay County shows 19 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
Similar Major-disaster share
Clay County: 16 of 19 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Clay County: NRI composite 20.5 (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 Clay County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Clay 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: 20.5 (Very Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 19. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 19 FEMA declarations, Clay 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).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Clay County?
The most common disaster type in Clay County is Flood, with 9 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (6), Biological (2), Coastal Storm (1).
How does Clay County's FEMA declaration record compare with the South Dakota average?
FEMA lists 19 declaration records for Clay County. That is 0% above the South Dakota county mean of 19.0. Its count is also 8% below 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 Clay County received?
Clay County has received 16 major disaster declarations, representing 84% of all 19 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Clay County filed?
Clay County has 13 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $53.0K in payments, with an average of $4.1K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Clay County?
No. In Clay County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $5.3M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Clay County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Clay County was 2010, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1969 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Clay County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Clay County, South Dakota has an overall risk score of 20.5 out of 100 (Very Low). Social vulnerability here rates Very Low, while community resilience comes in at Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $11.6M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Clay County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Clay County is Drought (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Winter Weather (Relatively Moderate) and Hail (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 31 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 791 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 Clay County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · South Dakota profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events