FEMA Records
7
Low volume
Illinois · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Edwards County, IL
7 FEMA disaster declarations (1989-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Tornado.
- 7
- FEMA declarations
- 4
- Major disasters
- 26
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Tornado
- Top hazard
The verdict
Start with the local benchmark for Edwards County: 7 FEMA declaration records are 46% below the Illinois county mean, even though the count is higher than 4% 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 safer than 26%.
- Safer than 26%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 7
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 2
- biological 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.
How does Edwards County compare?
Edwards County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
7 4th percentile higher than 4% 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
Edwards County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Illinois county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Edwards County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $1.8M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very High), while Drought 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 Edwards County's hazard record show?
Declaration frequency
The state comparison is the clearest context for Edwards County's moderate federal record. Its 7 declarations sit 46% below the Illinois county mean, with 4 Major Disaster entries among them. 2 records concern Tornado, the file's most frequent incident type. Spread across 31 years, the registry rate is 0.2 per year. FEMA reports authorized programs separately from the DR, EM, and FM codes.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county's FEMA National Risk Index composite lands at 26.1/100 (Very Low), a modest reading against the rest of the country. Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $6.2M in annualized losses), tempered or compounded by a Very High social-vulnerability score and Relatively High community-resilience score. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Drought stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at 3.8 modeled event-days per year here, based on 119 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 Illinois county averages 12.9 federal declaration records, while Edwards County has 7. The gap is 46% 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.
39 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Edwards County, IL · 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
5/30
7 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.3x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
7/25
7 declarations (0.5x state county average of 13)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
4 of 7 declarations are major disasters (57%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Edwards County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
Moderate
vs. Illinois Avg
-46%
State avg: 12.9
vs. National Avg
-66%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.2
Over 31 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Edwards 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
57%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
26
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Edwards 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively High | 3.8 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 142 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 9.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 4.1 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 8 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 90 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 2.8 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | an average of 1 time per year |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 50 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 24,982 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Biological 2
Tornado 2
Hurricane 1
Snowstorm 1
Severe Storm 1
What Tornado declarations mean here
Tornado is the most frequent declaration type on Edwards County's record, 29% of its declarations, which is unusual: most counties file tornado damage under the broader Severe Storm category, so a tornado-led record generally means one or more damage paths severe enough to be named in their own right. Tornado damage is the most spatially concentrated of any hazard class here - total destruction along a narrow corridor with undamaged property either side, so county-level totals understate how severe the local impact was for the households actually in the path.
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 - 4 57.1%
of all 7 declarations
Emergency - 3 42.9%
of all 7 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 7 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 7 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4489 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-26 |
| 3435 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3230 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-07 |
| 3199 | RECORD/NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2005-02-01 |
| 1416 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 2002-05-21 |
| 871 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1990-06-22 |
| 819 | SEVERE STORMS & TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1989-01-13 |
Storm Events in Illinois
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Edwards County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,218 | 9 | 67 | $46.0M |
| Hail | 3,195 | 0 | 0 | $27.1M |
| Winter Weather | 1,363 | 14 | 49 | $1.8M |
| Flood | 1,221 | 14 | 11 | $84.3M |
| Flash Flood | 1,133 | 11 | 3 | $1.1B |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 26.1/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$6.2M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Hail Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Lightning Very Low
Wildfire 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: Drought
Drought is the slowest of the modeled hazards and the least visible: it does its damage to agriculture, water supply and soil over seasons rather than hours, so it rarely produces the kind of single-day damage that drives a disaster declaration. FEMA scores it in event-days per year rather than discrete events for exactly that reason.
Worth noting for Edwards County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Drought carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Tornado. 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
Edwards County's closest FEMA peer: Gem County, ID
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Edwards County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Edwards County shows 7 FEMA declarations, led by Tornado.
Similar Major-disaster share
Edwards County: 4 of 7 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Edwards County: NRI composite 26.1 (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 Edwards County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
FEMA's National Risk Index flags Drought as the top modeled exposure here (Relatively High); the guide explains how that model differs from declaration counts.
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 Edwards County?
The most common disaster type in Edwards County is Tornado, with 2 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Hurricane (1), Snowstorm (1).
How does Edwards County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Illinois average?
The typical Illinois county has 12.9 FEMA declaration records; Edwards County has 7, or 46% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 66% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Edwards County received?
Edwards County has received 4 major disaster declarations, representing 57% of all 7 disaster declarations.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Edwards County?
No. In Edwards County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $1.8M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Edwards County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Edwards County was 2005, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1989 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Edwards County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Edwards County, Illinois has an overall risk score of 26.1 out of 100 (Very Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Very High; on community resilience, Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $6.2M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Edwards County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Edwards County as of the latest release is Drought (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Earthquake (Relatively Low) and Heat Wave (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 3.8 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 119 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.
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 Edwards County
Against a Illinois county mean of 13 declarations, Edwards County, IL records 7, or 46% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as moderate activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (4 of 7) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Illinois overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 4% of recorded county totals, but its own Illinois benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. Most-disaster rankings
- With no NFIP county row, the declaration register and modeled NRI remain distinct evidence rather than substitutes for a claims history. 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.