FEMA Records
16
Below median
North Dakota · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Divide County, ND
16 FEMA disaster declarations (1969-2022), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 16
- FEMA declarations
- 14
- Major disasters
- 6
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Divide 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 38% below the North Dakota county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county safer than 6%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Safer than 6%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 16
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 8
- flood declarations, the most common hazard here
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 38023 · Divide County 16 declarations · rank 2293/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-HEAVY · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-MID 16
- MAJOR-HEAVY 88%
- RANK-LOWER #2,293
- PHOTO-FINISH Greene
- NRI-LOW Very Low
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Flood
- VS-ST-BELOW -38%
Nearest declaration peer: Greene, GA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · North Dakota state profile
Divide County among counties with fewer federal records
FEMA declaration records among Divide County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Divide · this county 16
Divide · this county
16 declarations
- Frontier · near 16
Frontier · near
16 declarations
- Greene · near 16
Greene · near
16 declarations
- Terrell · near 16
Terrell · near
16 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Divide County carries 16 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2293 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Divide County versus quieter counties in this dataset
Divide County among lower-declaration counties nationally
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Divide County
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 · 2026-08-25
Divide County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Divide County is led by Cold Wave (about $914.3K Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Winter Weather 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 Divide County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's National Risk Index places this county in the low end of the national distribution, composite score 5.8/100 (Very Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $2.7M in annualized losses). Two modifiers shape how that exposure becomes real-world harm here: social vulnerability (Relatively High) and community resilience (Very Low). Among the 18 modeled hazards, Winter Weather carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 16 times per year here, based on 305 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
No paid-claim row for this county appears in the NFIP county table used by PlainHazard. That absence is not evidence that flooding never occurred: the register observes claims under federal flood-insurance policies, not uninsured losses, emergency reports, or every flood outside the program. The FEMA declaration history below is therefore the available federal-action record on this page.
Start with the state benchmark: a North Dakota county averages 25.9 federal declaration records, while Divide County has 16. The gap is 38% 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.
55 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Divide County, ND · 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
8/25
16 declarations (0.6x state county average of 26)
Major Disaster Share Very High
22/25
14 of 16 declarations are major disasters (88%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Divide County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Divide 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
88%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
6
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Divide 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 16 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 4,814 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 19 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 28 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 26 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 11,364 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 6 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 14 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 0.6 modeled event-days per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 8
Severe Storm 4
Biological 2
Coastal Storm 1
Tornado 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Divide County's record, 50% 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 - 14 87.5%
of all 16 declarations
Emergency - 2 12.5%
of all 16 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 2 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4660 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2022-07-13 |
| 4613 | SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2021-09-01 |
| 4509 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-01 |
| 3477 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4190 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2014-08-19 |
| 1986 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-05-20 |
| 1981 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2011-05-10 |
| 3247 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Coastal Storm | 2005-09-13 |
| 1353 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 2000-12-29 |
| 1279 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, SNOW, ICE, GROUND SATURATION, LANSLIDES, MUDSLIDES, AND TOR | DR | Flood | 1999-06-08 |
| 1174 | SEVERE FLOODING,SEVERE WINTER STORMS, SNOWMELT, SPRING RAINS | DR | Flood | 1997-04-07 |
| 1157 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND BLIZZARD CONDITIONS | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-01-12 |
| 1001 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-07-26 |
| 581 | SEVERE STORMS, SNOWMELT & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1979-04-26 |
| 501 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1976-04-16 |
| 256 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-04-18 |
Storm Events in North Dakota
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Divide County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 2,705 | 0 | 2 | $116.1M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2,459 | 2 | 10 | $67.0M |
| High Wind | 1,184 | 1 | 1 | $2.9M |
| Heavy Snow | 925 | 0 | 3 | $650.0K |
| Blizzard | 905 | 2 | 2 | $60.0M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 5.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$2.7M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Very Low
Hail Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Tornado Very Low
Lightning Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Heat Wave 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: Winter Weather
Winter Weather in the model means the accumulation of snow and cold that disrupts rather than destroys: road closures, roof loads, burst pipes and lost heating. Its costs land heavily on transport and on households least able to absorb an interruption.
Worth noting for Divide County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Winter Weather 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
Divide County's closest FEMA peer: Lancaster County, NE
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Divide County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Divide County shows 16 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
Similar Major-disaster share
Divide County: 14 of 16 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Divide County: NRI composite 5.8 (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 Divide County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Divide 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: 5.8 (Very Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 16. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 16 FEMA declarations, Divide 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 Divide County?
The most common disaster type in Divide County is Flood, with 8 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (4), Biological (2), Coastal Storm (1).
How does Divide County's FEMA declaration record compare with the North Dakota average?
The typical North Dakota county has 25.9 FEMA declaration records; Divide County has 16, or 38% 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 Divide County received?
Divide County has received 14 major disaster declarations, representing 88% of all 16 disaster declarations.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Divide County?
No. In Divide County, Winter Weather has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Cold Wave leads Expected Annual Loss at about $914.3K. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Divide County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Divide County was 1997, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1969 to 2022.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Divide County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Divide County, North Dakota has an overall risk score of 5.8 out of 100 (Very Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively High, while community resilience comes in at Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $2.7M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Divide County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Divide County as of the latest release is Winter Weather (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Ice Storm (Relatively Moderate) and Wildfire (Very Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts winter weather here at an average of 16 times per year, drawn from 305 historical events on record. FEMA derives these ratings from historical event frequency, the assets exposed, and the community's vulnerability profile.
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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Divide County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · North Dakota profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events