FEMA Records
16
Below median
Kansas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Dickinson County, KS
16 FEMA disaster declarations (1969-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 16
- FEMA declarations
- 12
- Major disasters
- 49
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Dickinson County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 16 declarations, more than 27% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 11% below the Kansas county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county safer than 49%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Safer than 49%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 16
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 86
- 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.
How does Dickinson County compare?
Dickinson County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
16 27th percentile higher than 27% 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
Dickinson County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Kansas county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Dickinson County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $6.4M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), 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 Dickinson County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 86 paid claims, totaling $174.1K. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $2.0K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
Start with the state benchmark: a Kansas county averages 18.0 federal declaration records, while Dickinson County has 16. The gap is 11% 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
FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 49.1/100 for this county (Relatively Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Relatively Low (roughly $15.9M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Relatively Low) and community resilience (Very High) both factor into how that raw exposure plays out on the ground. 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 time per year here, based on 69 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
Nationally, Dickinson County's 16 FEMA records form a high-volume history; within Kansas, however, the count is 11% below the county mean. 12 entries carry the Major Disaster classification. The largest incident group is Severe Storm, appearing 9 times. The full 51-year record averages 0.3 declarations annually. A DR label alone does not say whether Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both followed.
57 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Dickinson County, KS · 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
12/30
16 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.8x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
11/25
16 declarations (0.9x state county average of 18)
Major Disaster Share Very High
19/25
12 of 16 declarations are major disasters (75%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Dickinson County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Kansas Avg
-11%
State avg: 18.0
vs. National Avg
-23%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.3
Over 51 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Dickinson 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
75%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
49
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Dickinson 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 time per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 840 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 13 modeled event-days per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 12 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 8.8 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 5.9 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 20 modeled event-days per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 8 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 49 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,481 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 2.5 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 9
Biological 2
Flood 2
Snowstorm 1
Hurricane 1
Tornado 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Dickinson County's record, 56% 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 - 12 75.0%
of all 16 declarations
Emergency - 4 25.0%
of all 16 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 3 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 2 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 16 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 16 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4504 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-29 |
| 3481 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4449 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING,LANDSLIDES,AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-06-20 |
| 3412 | TORNADOES AND FLOODING | EM | Severe Storm | 2019-05-28 |
| 4150 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-10-22 |
| 4112 | SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2013-04-26 |
| 1848 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND RECORD AND NEAR RECORD SNOW | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-06-24 |
| 1776 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-07-09 |
| 1741 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-02-01 |
| 3282 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | EM | Severe Storm | 2007-12-12 |
| 1699 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-05-06 |
| 3236 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-10 |
| 1000 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-07-22 |
| 403 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1973-09-28 |
| 378 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-05-02 |
| 267 | TORNADOES, SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 1969-07-15 |
Storm Events in Kansas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Dickinson County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 8,265 | 0 | 9 | $24.2M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,987 | 3 | 34 | $30.6M |
| High Wind | 1,553 | 1 | 7 | $10.2M |
| Drought | 1,272 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Flash Flood | 1,037 | 6 | 9 | $35.9M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
86
Total Paid
$174.1K
Avg Per Claim
$2.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 49.1/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$15.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Ice Storm Relatively High
Wildfire Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Hurricane 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: 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 Dickinson 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 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
Dickinson County's closest FEMA peer: Brown County, IL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Dickinson County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Dickinson County shows 16 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Dickinson County: 12 of 16 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Dickinson County: NRI composite 49.1 (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 Dickinson County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Dickinson County's NFIP claims file (86 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).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Dickinson County?
The most common disaster type in Dickinson County is Severe Storm, with 9 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Flood (2), Snowstorm (1).
How does Dickinson County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Kansas average?
The typical Kansas county has 18.0 FEMA declaration records; Dickinson County has 16, or 11% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 23% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Dickinson County received?
Dickinson County has received 12 major disaster declarations, representing 75% of all 16 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Dickinson County filed?
Dickinson County has 86 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $174.1K in payments, with an average of $2.0K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Dickinson County?
No. In Dickinson County, Ice Storm has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $6.4M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Dickinson County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Dickinson County was 2008, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1969 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Dickinson County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Dickinson County, Kansas has an overall risk score of 49.1 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively Low; on community resilience, Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $15.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Dickinson County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Dickinson County is Ice Storm (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Wildfire (Relatively Low) and Heat Wave (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts ice storm here at an average of 1 time per year, drawn from 69 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 Dickinson County
Against a Kansas county mean of 18 declarations, Dickinson County, KS records 16, or 11% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as high activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (12 of 16) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Kansas overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 27% of recorded county totals, but its own Kansas benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. Most-disaster rankings
- Use the data guide to separate this mid-volume insurance-claims file from declaration counts and modeled NRI risk. Disaster-data guide
A below-average federal record is not a safety guarantee. Use National Weather Service alerts and local emergency-management notices for present conditions, not this historical comparison.
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.