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Cooke County, TX

3 FEMA disaster declarations (2021–2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Ice Storm.

3
FEMA declarations
2
Major disasters
73
NRI risk · Relatively Low
Severe Ice Storm
Top hazard

FEMA's National Risk Index places Cooke County in the top 27% of U.S. counties for overall natural-hazard risk, and its FEMA disaster-declaration count is higher than 42% of all 2,729 counties tracked.

How does Cooke County compare?

FEMA disaster declarations, this county versus the Texas county average and the national county average.

Cooke County
3
Texas county avg
3.3
National county avg
3.7

How disaster-prone is Cooke County?

Cooke County, Texas has recorded 3 FEMA disaster declarations between 2021 and 2024, of which 2 were classified as Major Disaster declarations (DR) requiring federal individual and public assistance. That puts the county's average at 1.0 declarations per year across a 3-year record, or roughly 9% below the Texas county average of 3.3 and 20% below the national county average of 3.7. Declaration counts reflect federal recognition of event severity, not pure hazard frequency — smaller incidents handled locally never appear in FEMA's ledger.

The dominant disaster type on record is Severe Ice Storm, with 2 of 3 declarations falling under this category. FEMA's National Risk Index assigns this county an overall risk rating of Relatively Low (composite score 73.3/100), driven by an Expected Annual Loss rating of Relatively Low equivalent to roughly $28.5M in annualized losses. Social vulnerability scores Relatively Moderate and community resilience scores Relatively Low — two factors that modify raw hazard exposure into actual harm. The single highest-risk natural hazard identified for this county is Drought (Relatively High).

NFIP flood insurance claims data for this county is not present in the FEMA claims extract, which typically indicates either low historical flood activity or low policy penetration. Taken together, these indicators place Cooke County at a low relative risk level for federally recognized disasters. Households should pair this historical lens with forward-looking hazard maps — flood zones, wildfire risk overlays, and seismic zones published by FEMA and state emergency management — before making preparedness, insurance, or relocation decisions.

Risk Assessment

How Cooke County's disaster history compares to state and national averages.

Risk Level

Low

vs. Texas Avg

-9%

State avg: 3.3

vs. National Avg

-20%

National avg: 3.7

Avg Per Year

1.0

Over 3 years

FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar — Cooke County

Cooke County NRI risk profile 8-axis FEMA National Risk Index radar showing per-hazard composite scores for Earthquake 8, Flood 0, Hurricane 8, Tornado 70, Wildfire 48, Drought 70, Heat Wave 25, Winter Storm 70. Overall composite 37 of 100, classified Moderate. Earthquake Flood Hurricane Tornado Wildfire Drought Heat Wave Winter Storm 37 composite
Cooke County NRI risk profile FIPS 48097 · composite 37/100 (Moderate)

The radar plots Cooke County's relative exposure to the eight headline natural hazards used by the FEMA National Risk Index. Each axis is the qualitative NRI risk rating (Very Low through Very High) re-expressed on a 0-100 scale so that the polygon shape lets you compare a county against another at a glance.

FEMA Records

3

Total declarations

NRI Source

FEMA 2023

Latest NRI release

County FIPS

48097

TX state code

Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, 2023 release

Disaster Types

Breakdown of 3 FEMA disaster declarations in Cooke County by incident type.

Severe Ice Storm 2
Flood 1

Declaration Types

FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).

Major Disaster — 2 66.7%

of all 3 declarations

Emergency — 1 33.3%

of all 3 declarations

FEMA Declarations Timeline

Disaster declarations per year for Cooke County.

Year Declarations
2024 1
2021 2

Disaster Declarations

All 3 FEMA disaster declarations for Cooke County, Texas.

DR# Title Type Incident Date
4781 SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING DR Flood 2024-05-17
4586 SEVERE WINTER STORMS DR Severe Ice Storm 2021-02-19
3554 SEVERE WINTER STORM EM Severe Ice Storm 2021-02-14

Storm Events in Texas

NOAA severe weather data for Texas (2015–2025). Storm event data is tracked at the state level.

Storm Type Events Fatalities Injuries Property Damage
Hail 15,525 0 20 $7.4B
Thunderstorm Wind 11,498 43 156 $400.2M
Drought 7,643 0 0 $86.0K
Flash Flood 5,352 483 24 $48.0B
Heat 4,426 121 423 $0

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015–2025

FEMA National Risk Index

FEMA's composite risk score combining 18 natural hazard types, social vulnerability, and community resilience for Cooke County.

Overall Risk

Relatively Low

Score: 73.3/100

Expected Annual Loss

Relatively Low

$28.5M/year

Social Vulnerability

Relatively Moderate

Community Resilience

Relatively Low

Hazard Risk Breakdown

Risk rating for each of the 18 FEMA NRI natural hazard types in Cooke County.

Drought Relatively High
Hail Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively High
Ice Storm Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Hurricane Very Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri

Counties with Similar Risk in Texas

Other Texas counties with similar disaster declaration counts.

Disaster Preparedness Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

How many natural disasters has Cooke County, Texas had?
Cooke County, Texas has received 3 FEMA disaster declarations from 2021 to 2024. Of these, 2 were major disaster declarations.
What is the most common disaster type in Cooke County?
The most common disaster type in Cooke County is Severe Ice Storm, with 2 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (1).
How does Cooke County's disaster risk compare to the Texas average?
Cooke County has 3 disaster declarations, which is 9% lower than the Texas county average of 3.3 declarations. Compared to the national county average of 3.7, it is 20% lower.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Cooke County received?
Cooke County has received 2 major disaster declarations, representing 67% of all 3 disaster declarations. Major disaster declarations typically involve significant damage requiring federal assistance.
What types of storms are most common in Texas?
The most common storm types in Texas include Hail (15,525 events), Thunderstorm Wind (11,498 events), Drought (7,643 events). NOAA storm event data covers severe weather from 2015 to 2025.
What was the worst year for disasters in Cooke County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Cooke County was 2021, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 2021 to 2024.
What is the overall disaster risk level for Cooke County?
Based on FEMA declaration history, Cooke County has a low disaster risk level with 3 total declarations. This county has relatively few disaster declarations compared to the national average.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Cooke County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Cooke County, Texas has an overall risk score of 73.3 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Moderate and community resilience is Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $28.5M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Cooke County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Cooke County is Drought (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Hail (Relatively Moderate) and Wildfire (Relatively Moderate). 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.

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.

What this means for Cooke County

Cooke County, TX has 3 FEMA disaster declarations on record — a low historical disaster load, 9% below the Texas county average.

  • Its most common federal declaration type is major disaster (2 of 3) — know the hazards most likely here before they happen. Texas overview
  • See how this county ranks against the rest of the country for disaster frequency. Most-disaster rankings
  • Read how to read FEMA declarations, NRI risk scores, and what they do and don't tell you. Disaster-data guide

Historical declaration counts describe past federal response, not a forecast. For current threats, follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.

All federal data sources used on this page
Data sourced from official U.S. government datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial

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