FEMA Records
1
Total declarations
Illinois · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Fayette County, IL
1 FEMA disaster declarations (2022–2022), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Tornado.
- 1
- FEMA declarations
- 0
- Major disasters
- 49
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Tornado
- Top hazard
FEMA's National Risk Index places Fayette County in the top 51% of U.S. counties for overall natural-hazard risk, and its FEMA disaster-declaration count is higher than 0% of all 2,729 counties tracked.
How does Fayette County compare?
- Fayette County
- 1
- Illinois county avg
- 1.2
- National county avg
- 3.7
How disaster-prone is Fayette County?
Fayette County, Illinois has recorded 1 FEMA disaster declarations between 2022 and 2022, of which 0 were classified as Major Disaster declarations (DR) requiring federal individual and public assistance. That puts the county's average at - declarations per year, or roughly 18% below the Illinois county average of 1.2 and 73% below the national county average of 3.7.
The dominant disaster type on record is Tornado, with 1 of 1 declarations falling under this category. FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 48.8/100 for this county (Relatively Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Relatively Low (roughly $15.1M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Relatively Moderate) and community resilience (Very High) both factor into how that raw exposure plays out on the ground. Even the county's top-rated hazard, Earthquake, only reaches Relatively Low on FEMA's scale, none of the 18 modeled hazards stand out here.
Taken together, Fayette County's federal disaster history is about as quiet as U.S. counties get, a very low relative risk level on this measure.
Risk Assessment
Risk Level
Very Low
vs. Illinois Avg
-18%
State avg: 1.2
vs. National Avg
-73%
National avg: 3.7
Avg Per Year
-
-
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Fayette County
How to read this radar
The radar plots Fayette County's relative exposure to the eight headline natural hazards used by the FEMA National Risk Index. Each axis is the qualitative NRI risk rating (Very Low through Very High) re-expressed on a 0-100 scale so that the polygon shape lets you compare a county against another at a glance. A rounder polygon means broad multi-hazard exposure; a spiky polygon means one or two dominant hazards drive most of the modeled risk.
NRI Source
FEMA 2023
Latest NRI release
County FIPS
17051
IL state code
Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, 2023 release
Disaster Types
Tornado 1
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Emergency - 1 100.0%
of all 1 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3577 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | EM | Tornado | 2021-12-13 |
Storm Events in Illinois
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 8,196 | 9 | 78 | $48.0M |
| Hail | 3,526 | 0 | 0 | $27.1M |
| Winter Weather | 1,524 | 16 | 53 | $1.8M |
| Flood | 1,290 | 14 | 11 | $84.4M |
| Flash Flood | 1,242 | 11 | 3 | $1.6B |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015–2025
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 48.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$15.1M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Earthquake Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
Counties with Similar Risk in Illinois
Disaster Preparedness Guides
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
How many natural disasters has Fayette County, Illinois had?
Fayette County, Illinois has received 1 FEMA disaster declarations from 2022 to 2022.
What is the most common disaster type in Fayette County?
The most common disaster type in Fayette County is Tornado, with 1 declaration.
How does Fayette County's disaster risk compare to the Illinois average?
Fayette County has 1 disaster declarations, which is 18% lower than the Illinois county average of 1.2 declarations. Compared to the national county average of 3.7, it is 73% lower.
What types of storms are most common in Illinois?
The most common storm types in Illinois include Thunderstorm Wind (8,196 events), Hail (3,526 events), Winter Weather (1,524 events). NOAA storm event data covers severe weather from 2015 to 2025.
What is the overall disaster risk level for Fayette County?
Fayette County has just 1 FEMA disaster declaration on record, placing it in the very-low-risk band, among the quieter counties in FEMA's declaration history.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Fayette County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Fayette County, Illinois has an overall risk score of 48.8 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Moderate and community resilience is Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $15.1M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Fayette County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Fayette County is Earthquake (risk rating: Relatively Low). Other significant hazards include Drought (Relatively Moderate) and Landslide (Relatively Low). 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 Fayette County
Fayette County, IL has 1 FEMA disaster declarations on record, a very low historical disaster load, 18% below the Illinois county average.
- Its most common federal declaration type is emergency (1 of 1) - know the hazards most likely here before they happen. Illinois overview
- See how this county ranks against the rest of the country for disaster frequency. Most-disaster rankings
- Read how to read FEMA declarations, NRI risk scores, and what they do and don't tell you. Disaster-data guide
Historical declaration counts describe past federal response, not a forecast. For current threats, follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.
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. This page draws directly on FEMA federal disaster data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.