FEMA Records
40
Very high volume
Massachusetts · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Essex County, MA
40 FEMA disaster declarations (1972-2023), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 40
- FEMA declarations
- 25
- Major disasters
- 96
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Essex County. Its 40 FEMA declarations are 39% above the Massachusetts county mean and exceed the count for 97% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 4%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 4%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 40
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 5,455
- 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 Essex County compare?
Essex County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
40 Top 3% higher than 97% 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
Essex County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Massachusetts county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Essex County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $124.6M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Coastal Flooding carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Very 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 Essex County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 5,455 claims and $94.1M in payments. PlainHazard labels 500 or more claims a heavy registry record; that is a reporting bucket, not an official FEMA risk grade. The average paid claim was $17.3K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Essex County's 40 federal records stand 39% above the Massachusetts county mean of 28.8. 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.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 95.6/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $198.8M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Low and community resilience Very High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Coastal Flooding stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 8.1 times per year here.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 40 entries for Essex County, including 25 Major Disaster records, 39% above the Massachusetts county mean. Across the 51-year span, that works out to 0.8 declarations a year. Severe Storm leads the file with 10 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
82 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Essex County, MA · 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
29/30
40 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.9x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
17/25
40 declarations (1.4x state county average of 29)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
25 of 40 declarations are major disasters (63%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
10 different disaster types declared in Essex County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Massachusetts Avg
+39%
State avg: 28.8
vs. National Avg
+93%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.8
Over 51 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Essex 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
63%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
96
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Essex 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flooding | Very High | an average of 8.1 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Very High | an average of 1.5 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 2.7 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 19 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 476 years |
| Hurricane | Relatively High | roughly once every 6 years |
| Tornado | Relatively High | roughly once every 8 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 5.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 8.5 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 11,328 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 15 times per year |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 1.8 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 10
Snowstorm 8
Hurricane 7
Flood 7
Biological 2
Coastal Storm 2
Other 1
Severe Ice Storm 1
Fire 1
Fishing Losses 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Essex County's record, 25% 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 - 25 62.5%
of all 40 declarations
Emergency - 15 37.5%
of all 40 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 3 | |
| 2009 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 2 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 2 | |
Show 11 earlier declaration years
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 2 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 2 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 40 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 40 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3599 | HURRICANE LEE | EM | Hurricane | 2023-09-15 |
| 4496 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-27 |
| 3438 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4379 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2018-07-19 |
| 4372 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2018-06-25 |
| 4214 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-04-13 |
| 4110 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-04-19 |
| 3350 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-28 |
| 3343 | SEVERE STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2011-11-01 |
| 3330 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-26 |
| 1959 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2011-03-07 |
| 3315 | HURRICANE EARL | EM | Hurricane | 2010-09-02 |
| 3312 | WATER MAIN BREAK | EM | Other | 2010-05-03 |
| 1895 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-03-29 |
| 1813 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2009-01-05 |
| 3296 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2008-12-13 |
| 1701 | SEVERE STORMS AND INLAND AND COASTAL FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-05-16 |
| 1642 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-05-25 |
| 1614 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-11-10 |
| 3252 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
Show 20 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3201 | RECORD AND/OR NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2005-02-17 |
| 1512 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2004-04-21 |
| 3191 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2004-01-15 |
| 3175 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-03-11 |
| 1364 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-04-10 |
| 3165 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2001-03-28 |
| 1224 | HEAVY RAINS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1998-06-23 |
| 1142 | EXTREME WEATHER CONDITONS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1996-10-25 |
| 3119 | EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS AND FLOODING | EM | Flood | 1996-10-23 |
| 1090 | BLIZZARD OF 96 | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-24 |
| 3103 | BLIZZARDS, HIGH WINDS & RECORD SNOWFALL | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-16 |
| 975 | WINTER COASTAL STORM | DR | Coastal Storm | 1992-12-21 |
| 920 | COASTAL STORM | DR | Coastal Storm | 1991-11-04 |
| 914 | HURRICANE BOB | DR | Hurricane | 1991-08-26 |
| 790 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1987-04-18 |
| 751 | HURRICANE GLORIA | DR | Hurricane | 1985-10-28 |
| 650 | URBAN FIRE | DR | Fire | 1981-12-03 |
| 546 | COASTAL STORMS, FLOOD, ICE & SNOW | DR | Flood | 1978-02-10 |
| 357 | TOXIC ALGAE IN COASTAL WATERS | DR | Fishing Losses | 1972-09-28 |
| 325 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1972-03-06 |
Storm Events in Massachusetts
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Essex County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2,101 | 2 | 7 | $13.2M |
| Strong Wind | 1,019 | 4 | 8 | $3.2M |
| High Wind | 722 | 3 | 10 | $10.8M |
| Flood | 563 | 0 | 0 | $4.0M |
| Winter Weather | 390 | 1 | 14 | $1.4M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
5,455
Total Paid
$94.1M
Avg Per Claim
$17.3K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 95.6/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$198.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Coastal Flooding Very High
Ice Storm Very High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively High
Tornado Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively High
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Hail 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: Coastal Flooding
Coastal Flooding is modeled separately from riverine flooding because its driver is different: surge, tide and wave action rather than a watershed draining. It is also the hazard whose baseline is moving, since the same storm rides on a higher starting sea level than it used to.
Worth noting for Essex County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Coastal Flooding carries the highest modeled rating (Very 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
Essex County's closest FEMA peer: Taylor County, FL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Essex County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Essex County shows 40 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Essex County: 25 of 40 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Essex County: NRI composite 95.6 (Relatively High).
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 Essex County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Essex County's NFIP claims file (5,455 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 Essex County?
The most common disaster type in Essex County is Severe Storm, with 10 declarations. Other disaster types include Snowstorm (8), Hurricane (7), Flood (7).
How does Essex County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Massachusetts average?
FEMA lists 40 declaration records for Essex County. That is 39% above the Massachusetts county mean of 28.8. Its count is also 93% 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 Essex County received?
Essex County has received 25 major disaster declarations, representing 63% of all 40 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Essex County filed?
Essex County has 5,455 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $94.1M in payments, with an average of $17.3K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Essex County?
No. In Essex County, Coastal Flooding has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $124.6M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Essex County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Essex County was 2010, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1972 to 2023.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Essex County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Essex County, Massachusetts has an overall risk score of 95.6 out of 100 (Relatively High). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Low and community resilience is Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $198.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Essex County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Essex County as of the latest release is Coastal Flooding (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Ice Storm (Very High) and Riverine Flooding (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts coastal flooding here at an average of 8.1 times per year. The underlying methodology weighs historical event frequency against 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 Essex County
Essex County, MA has 40 federal declaration records, 39% more than the Massachusetts county mean of 29; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 25 of 40 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. Massachusetts overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the Massachusetts mean and the totals for 97% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- The large NFIP claims file and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records; the guide explains where they overlap and where they do not. 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.