FEMA Records
34
Very high volume
Alabama · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
DeKalb County, AL
34 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 34
- FEMA declarations
- 24
- Major disasters
- 80
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for DeKalb County. Its 34 FEMA declarations are 32% above the Alabama county mean and exceed the count for 92% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 20%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 20%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 34
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 40
- 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.
How does DeKalb County compare?
DeKalb County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
34 Top 8% higher than 92% 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 · 2026-08-03
DeKalb County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Alabama county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for DeKalb County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $15.7M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Strong Wind 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 DeKalb County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 80.4/100 (Relatively Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Low (roughly $31.6M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively High and community resilience Very Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Strong Wind stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 4.7 times per year here, based on 178 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 34 entries for DeKalb County, including 24 Major Disaster records, 32% above the Alabama county mean. Across the 51-year span, that works out to 0.7 declarations a year. Severe Storm leads the file with 18 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 40 claims and $1.0M 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. DeKalb County's 34 federal records stand 32% above the Alabama county mean of 25.8. 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.
79 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
DeKalb County, AL · 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
25/30
34 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.6x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
16/25
34 declarations (1.3x state county average of 26)
Major Disaster Share High
18/25
24 of 34 declarations are major disasters (71%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in DeKalb County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Alabama Avg
+32%
State avg: 25.8
vs. National Avg
+64%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.7
Over 51 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - DeKalb 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
71%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
80
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike DeKalb 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 4.7 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.5 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 30 modeled event-days per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 295 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.7 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 4.8 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 397 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 61 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 36 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 4 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 4.8 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 18
Hurricane 7
Flood 3
Biological 2
Fire 1
Snowstorm 1
Drought 1
Tornado 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on DeKalb County's record, 53% 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 - 24 70.6%
of all 34 declarations
Emergency - 9 26.5%
of all 34 declarations
Fire Management - 1 2.9%
of all 34 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
Show 9 earlier declaration years
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 2 | |
| 1995 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 2 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 2 | |
| 1973 | 2 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 34 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 34 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3618 | HURRICANE HELENE | EM | Hurricane | 2024-09-26 |
| 3545 | HURRICANE SALLY | EM | Hurricane | 2020-09-14 |
| 4555 | SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 2020-07-10 |
| 4503 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-29 |
| 3472 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4426 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-04-17 |
| 3389 | HURRICANE IRMA | EM | Hurricane | 2017-09-11 |
| 4251 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2016-01-21 |
| 4176 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2014-05-02 |
| 1971 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-04-28 |
| 3319 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | EM | Severe Storm | 2011-04-27 |
| 1908 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-05-03 |
| 1836 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-05-08 |
| 1835 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, TORNADOES & STRAIGHT-LINE | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-04-28 |
| 3292 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM | Hurricane | 2008-08-30 |
| 3237 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-10 |
| 1549 | HURRICANE IVAN | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-15 |
| 1466 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-05-12 |
| 1442 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2002-11-14 |
| 1399 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-12-07 |
Show 14 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1317 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-02-18 |
| 2281 | AL - LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FIRE - 09/18/99 | FM | Fire | 1999-09-18 |
| 1104 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, ICE AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1996-02-23 |
| 1070 | HURRICANE OPAL | DR | Hurricane | 1995-10-04 |
| 1047 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-04-21 |
| 1019 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADO, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1994-03-30 |
| 1013 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FREEZING, FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1994-03-03 |
| 3096 | SEVERE SNOWFALL, WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-15 |
| 856 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1990-02-17 |
| 578 | STORMS, WIND, FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1979-04-18 |
| 3045 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-07-20 |
| 532 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1977-04-09 |
| 388 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-05-29 |
| 369 | TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 1973-03-27 |
Storm Events in Alabama
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to DeKalb County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,827 | 16 | 115 | $51.7M |
| Hail | 1,349 | 0 | 0 | $5.0K |
| Flash Flood | 1,047 | 17 | 7 | $12.8M |
| Tornado | 896 | 57 | 343 | $49.7M |
| Drought | 857 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
40
Total Paid
$1.0M
Avg Per Claim
$26.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 80.4/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$31.6M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Strong Wind Relatively High
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Earthquake Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Hail 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
The model's sharpest exposure here: Strong Wind
Strong Wind covers damaging non-thunderstorm, non-tornadic wind, the kind produced by steep pressure gradients and downslope events. It is a broad, frequent, low-drama hazard: roofs, signage, power lines and high-profile vehicles, spread across a wide area rather than concentrated on a path.
For DeKalb County the two measures on this page point the same way: Strong Wind is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively High), and Severe Storm declarations also lead its federal record. Where the model and the declaration history agree, the reading is comparatively straightforward, the hazard is both expected and repeatedly realised.
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
DeKalb County's closest FEMA peer: Brazoria County, TX
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for DeKalb County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
DeKalb County shows 34 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
DeKalb County: 24 of 34 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
DeKalb County: NRI composite 80.4 (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 DeKalb County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 34 FEMA declarations, DeKalb 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).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in DeKalb County?
The most common disaster type in DeKalb County is Severe Storm, with 18 declarations. Other disaster types include Hurricane (7), Flood (3), Biological (2).
How does DeKalb County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Alabama average?
FEMA lists 34 declaration records for DeKalb County. That is 32% above the Alabama county mean of 25.8. Its count is also 64% 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 DeKalb County received?
DeKalb County has received 24 major disaster declarations, representing 71% of all 34 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has DeKalb County filed?
DeKalb County has 40 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $1.0M in payments, with an average of $26.0K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in DeKalb County?
No. In DeKalb County, Strong Wind has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $15.7M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in DeKalb County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in DeKalb County was 2020, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for DeKalb County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, DeKalb County, Alabama has an overall risk score of 80.4 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively High, while community resilience comes in at Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $31.6M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to DeKalb County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for DeKalb County is Strong Wind (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Tornado (Relatively Moderate) and Cold Wave (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts strong wind here at an average of 4.7 times per year, drawn from 178 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.
What this means for DeKalb County
DeKalb County, AL has 34 federal declaration records, 32% more than the Alabama county mean of 26; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 24 of 34 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. Alabama overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the Alabama mean and the totals for 92% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- A short NFIP claims file cannot establish low flood exposure; the data guide explains the limits of each federal measure. Disaster-data guide
An above-average declaration count records past federal responses; it does not predict the next event. Current warnings come from the National Weather Service and local emergency officials.
PlainHazard derives this profile from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries and National Risk Index data. The declaration comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 - all federally-declared disasters for this county. fema.gov/openfema/disaster-declarations
- FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) - per-county per-hazard risk ratings and expected annual loss. hazards.fema.gov/nri
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database - state-level storm/severe-weather event records, 2015-2025. ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.