FEMA Records
9
Low volume
Wisconsin · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Eau Claire County, WI
9 FEMA disaster declarations (1969-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 9
- FEMA declarations
- 6
- Major disasters
- 78
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Start with the local benchmark for Eau Claire County: 9 FEMA declaration records are 27% below the Wisconsin county mean, even though the count is higher than 8% of counties in the national registry. On FEMA's distinct National Risk Index model, which combines expected loss with vulnerability and resilience, the county ranks in the riskiest 22%.
- Riskiest 22%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 9
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 58
- 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 Eau Claire County compare?
Eau Claire County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
9 8th percentile higher than 8% 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
Eau Claire County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Wisconsin county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Eau Claire County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $23.9M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Cold Wave 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 Eau Claire County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 58 paid claims, totaling $503.8K. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $8.7K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
Start with the state benchmark: a Wisconsin county averages 12.3 federal declaration records, while Eau Claire County has 9. The gap is 27% 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 sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 78.3/100 (Relatively Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Low (roughly $47.9M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Very Low and community resilience Very High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Cold Wave stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 8.4 times per year here, based on 160 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The state comparison is the clearest context for Eau Claire County's moderate federal record. Its 9 declarations sit 27% below the Wisconsin county mean, with 6 Major Disaster entries among them. 3 records concern Flood, the file's most frequent incident type. Spread across 51 years, the registry rate is 0.2 per year. FEMA reports authorized programs separately from the DR, EM, and FM codes.
46 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Eau Claire County, WI · 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) Low
7/30
9 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
9/25
9 declarations (0.7x state county average of 12)
Major Disaster Share High
17/25
6 of 9 declarations are major disasters (67%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Eau Claire County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
Moderate
vs. Wisconsin Avg
-27%
State avg: 12.3
vs. National Avg
-57%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.2
Over 51 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Eau Claire 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
67%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
78
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Eau Claire 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | an average of 8.4 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 3.3 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 2.7 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 4 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 5 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 16 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 34 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 2.8 modeled event-days per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 11,520 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 3 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 3,759 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 3
Biological 2
Severe Storm 2
Hurricane 1
Drought 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Eau Claire County's record, 33% 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 - 6 66.7%
of all 9 declarations
Emergency - 3 33.3%
of all 9 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 9 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 9 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4520 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-04 |
| 3454 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3249 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1526 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-06-18 |
| 994 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1993-07-02 |
| 626 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1980-07-24 |
| 3014 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1976-06-17 |
| 376 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-04-27 |
| 260 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-05-01 |
Storm Events in Wisconsin
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Eau Claire County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 3,504 | 5 | 23 | $45.0M |
| Hail | 2,620 | 0 | 0 | $57.8M |
| Winter Weather | 1,939 | 43 | 152 | $2.1M |
| Winter Storm | 1,338 | 15 | 86 | $2.3M |
| Flood | 740 | 12 | 4 | $115.6M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
58
Total Paid
$503.8K
Avg Per Claim
$8.7K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 78.3/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$47.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Cold Wave Relatively High
Hail Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively High
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Very Low
Drought Very Low
Earthquake Very 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: Cold Wave
Cold Wave measures exposure to extreme cold rather than to snow. Its harm is concentrated in health effects, burst infrastructure and energy demand spikes, and it falls hardest where the building stock and the grid were not built with sustained cold in mind.
Worth noting for Eau Claire County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Cold Wave carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), 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
Eau Claire County's closest FEMA peer: Nye County, NV
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Eau Claire County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Eau Claire County: NRI composite 78.3 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Eau Claire County: 6 of 9 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Eau Claire County shows 9 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
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 Eau Claire County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Eau Claire County's NFIP claims file (58 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 Eau Claire County?
The most common disaster type in Eau Claire County is Flood, with 3 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Severe Storm (2), Hurricane (1).
How does Eau Claire County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Wisconsin average?
The typical Wisconsin county has 12.3 FEMA declaration records; Eau Claire County has 9, or 27% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 57% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Eau Claire County received?
Eau Claire County has received 6 major disaster declarations, representing 67% of all 9 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Eau Claire County filed?
Eau Claire County has 58 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $503.8K in payments, with an average of $8.7K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Eau Claire County?
No. In Eau Claire County, Cold Wave has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $23.9M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Eau Claire County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Eau Claire County was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1969 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Eau Claire County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin has an overall risk score of 78.3 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Very Low; on community resilience, Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $47.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Eau Claire County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Eau Claire County as of the latest release is Cold Wave (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Hail (Relatively Moderate) and Strong Wind (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts cold wave here at an average of 8.4 times per year, drawn from 160 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.
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 Eau Claire County
Against a Wisconsin county mean of 12 declarations, Eau Claire County, WI records 9, or 27% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as moderate activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (6 of 9) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Wisconsin overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 8% of recorded county totals, but its own Wisconsin 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.