FEMA Records
20
Above median
North Carolina · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Cleveland County, NC
20 FEMA disaster declarations (1977-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 20
- FEMA declarations
- 9
- Major disasters
- 70
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Cleveland County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 20 declarations, more than 46% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 17% below the North Carolina county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 30%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 30%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 20
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 54
- 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 37045 · Cleveland County 20 declarations · rank 1581/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-LIGHT · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-HEAVY 20
- MAJOR-LIGHT 45%
- RANK-LOWER #1,581
- PHOTO-FINISH Monona
- NRI-LOW 70
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-BELOW -17%
Nearest declaration peer: Monona, IA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · North Carolina state profile
Cleveland County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Cleveland County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Cleveland · this county 20
Cleveland · this county
20 declarations
- Kaufman · near 20
Kaufman · near
20 declarations
- Monona · near 20
Monona · near
20 declarations
- Tallapoosa · near 20
Tallapoosa · near
20 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Cleveland County carries 20 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1581 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Cleveland County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Cleveland County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Cleveland County
20 46th percentile higher than 46% 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
Cleveland County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Cleveland County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $15.4M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Ice Storm carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High). 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 Cleveland County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 54 paid claims, totaling $740.4K. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $13.7K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
Start with the state benchmark: a North Carolina county averages 24.0 federal declaration records, while Cleveland County has 20. The gap is 17% 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.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 70.0/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $27.3M in annualized losses), and a Relatively Moderate social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively Low community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Ice Storm stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 1.9 times per year here, based on 130 historical events on record.
55 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Cleveland County, NC · 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
20 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.0x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
10/25
20 declarations (0.8x state county average of 24)
Major Disaster Share Moderate
11/25
9 of 20 declarations are major disasters (45%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
9 different disaster types declared in Cleveland County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Cleveland 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
45%
Mixed major share
NRI risk score
70
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Cleveland 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | an average of 1.9 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 54 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 499 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 4 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.7 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 21 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 5.6 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 31 modeled event-days per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 1.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 2,310 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 5.8 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 7
Snowstorm 4
Tropical Storm 2
Biological 2
Winter Storm 1
Severe Storm 1
Severe Ice Storm 1
Tornado 1
Drought 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Cleveland County's federal record, 35% 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).
Emergency - 11 55.0%
of all 20 declarations
Major Disaster - 9 45.0%
of all 20 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 2 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 2 | |
| 1977 | 2 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 20 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 20 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3637 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 4827 | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-28 |
| 3617 | HURRICANE HELENE | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-26 |
| 3586 | HURRICANE IAN | EM | Hurricane | 2022-10-01 |
| 3534 | HURRICANE ISAIAS | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-02 |
| 4543 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2020-05-08 |
| 4487 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3471 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3423 | HURRICANE DORIAN | EM | Hurricane | 2019-09-03 |
| 3401 | HURRICANE FLORENCE | EM | Hurricane | 2018-09-10 |
| 3222 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1546 | TROPICAL STORM FRANCES | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-10 |
| 1448 | SEVERE ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2002-12-12 |
| 1103 | WINTER STORM | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-02-23 |
| 1087 | BLIZZARD OF 96 | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-13 |
| 3110 | SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-17 |
| 844 | HURRICANE HUGO | DR | Hurricane | 1989-09-25 |
| 827 | TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1989-05-17 |
| 3049 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-08-11 |
| 3033 | DROUGHT & FREEZING | EM | Snowstorm | 1977-03-02 |
Storm Events in North Carolina
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Cleveland County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,123 | 11 | 60 | $62.9M |
| Flash Flood | 1,881 | 105 | 6 | $2.3B |
| Hail | 1,623 | 0 | 0 | $122.5M |
| Winter Weather | 1,272 | 6 | 2 | $425.0K |
| Winter Storm | 743 | 7 | 0 | $10.7M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
54
Total Paid
$740.4K
Avg Per Claim
$13.7K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 70.0/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$27.3M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Ice Storm Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively 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: Ice Storm
Ice storms load power lines and tree limbs with accumulating freezing rain until they fail. The characteristic cost is infrastructure and multi-day power loss across a wide area rather than structural damage to buildings, which is why their consequences often outlast the weather that caused them.
Worth noting for Cleveland County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Ice Storm carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Hurricane. 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
Cleveland County's closest FEMA peer: Howard County, TX
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Cleveland County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Cleveland County shows 20 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Cleveland County: 9 of 20 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Cleveland County: NRI composite 70.0 (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 Cleveland County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Cleveland 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: 70.0 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 20. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Cleveland County's NFIP claims file (54 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 Cleveland County?
The most common disaster type in Cleveland County is Hurricane, with 7 declarations. Other disaster types include Snowstorm (4), Tropical Storm (2), Biological (2).
How does Cleveland County's FEMA declaration record compare with the North Carolina average?
The typical North Carolina county has 24.0 FEMA declaration records; Cleveland County has 20, or 17% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 3% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Cleveland County received?
Cleveland County has received 9 major disaster declarations, representing 45% of all 20 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Cleveland County filed?
Cleveland County has 54 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $740.4K in payments, with an average of $13.7K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Cleveland County?
No. In Cleveland County, Ice Storm has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $15.4M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Cleveland County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Cleveland County was 2020, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1977 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Cleveland County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Cleveland County, North Carolina has an overall risk score of 70.0 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Moderate, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $27.3M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Cleveland County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Cleveland County as of the latest release is Ice Storm (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Lightning (Relatively High) and Earthquake (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts ice storm here at an average of 1.9 times per year, drawn from 130 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 Cleveland County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · North Carolina profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events