FEMA Records
20
Above median
Texas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Franklin County, TX
20 FEMA disaster declarations (1998-2023), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 20
- FEMA declarations
- 11
- Major disasters
- 25
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Franklin County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 20 declarations, more than 46% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 4% below the Texas county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county safer than 25%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Safer than 25%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 20
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 13
- 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 48159 · Franklin County 20 declarations · rank 1709/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-HEAVY 20
- MAJOR-MID 55%
- RANK-LOWER #1,709
- PHOTO-FINISH Monona
- NRI-LOW Very Low
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-BELOW -4%
Nearest declaration peer: Monona, IA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Texas state profile
Franklin County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Franklin County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Cleveland · near 20
Cleveland · near
20 declarations
- Franklin · this county 20
Franklin · this county
20 declarations
- Monona · near 20
Monona · near
20 declarations
- Tallapoosa · near 20
Tallapoosa · near
20 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Franklin County carries 20 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1709 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Franklin County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Franklin County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Franklin County
20 46th percentile higher than 46% 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
Franklin County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Franklin County is led by Tornado (about $2.2M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very High), while Ice Storm 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 Franklin County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county's FEMA National Risk Index composite lands at 24.8/100 (Very Low), a modest reading against the rest of the country. Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $6.8M in annualized losses), tempered or compounded by a Relatively High social-vulnerability score and Relatively High community-resilience score. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Ice Storm stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 1.2 times per year here, based on 79 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 13 claims and $326.3K paid in total. PlainHazard calls 1-49 claims a light registry record, a label for this dataset rather than a finding that flood exposure is low. A short claims history can also reflect insurance take-up, the period covered, or losses that were never insured.
Start with the state benchmark: a Texas county averages 20.9 federal declaration records, while Franklin County has 20. The gap is 4% 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.
60 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Franklin County, TX · 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
14/30
20 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.0x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
12/25
20 declarations (1.0x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
11 of 20 declarations are major disasters (55%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Franklin County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Franklin 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
55%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
25
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Franklin 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 4 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 5 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 30 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 630 years |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 58 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 18 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 4.4 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 790 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 3.6 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 18 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 58 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 5
Fire 5
Severe Ice Storm 3
Biological 2
Severe Storm 2
Winter Storm 1
Flood 1
Other 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Franklin County's federal record, 25% of its declarations. Atlantic tropical systems run on a defined season, 1 June to 30 November, with most activity concentrated between August and October; Pacific and territorial basins run on their own calendars. A single named storm routinely produces one declaration number covering a long corridor of counties at once, well inland as well as on the coast, which is why an affected county's count can jump by several in one year without several separate events having occurred.
One practical distinction matters when reading these records: a tropical declaration usually bundles wind, storm surge and inland rainfall flooding under a single incident, but the insurance behind them is split. Wind damage falls to property insurers, while flood and surge damage is covered only under a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy. That is why a county can show heavy declaration activity and a comparatively small NFIP claims record, or the reverse.
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 - 11 55.0%
of all 20 declarations
Emergency - 9 45.0%
of all 20 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 20 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 20 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4705 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Winter Storm | 2023-04-21 |
| 4586 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-19 |
| 3554 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-14 |
| 3540 | TROPICAL STORMS MARCO AND LAURA | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-24 |
| 4485 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3458 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4416 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2019-02-25 |
| 4255 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2016-02-09 |
| 4029 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2011-09-09 |
| 1999 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2011-07-01 |
| 3294 | HURRICANE IKE | EM | Hurricane | 2008-09-10 |
| 3284 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2008-03-14 |
| 1624 | EXTREME WILDFIRE THREAT | DR | Fire | 2006-01-11 |
| 1606 | HURRICANE RITA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-09-24 |
| 3261 | HURRICANE RITA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-21 |
| 3216 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-02 |
| 3171 | LOSS OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA | EM | Other | 2003-02-01 |
| 1356 | SEVERE WINTER ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2001-01-08 |
| 3142 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARDS | EM | Fire | 1999-09-01 |
| 1239 | TROPICAL STORM CHARLEY | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-08-26 |
Storm Events in Texas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Franklin County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 14,072 | 0 | 15 | $7.4B |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 10,293 | 41 | 141 | $369.9M |
| Drought | 7,032 | 0 | 0 | $86.0K |
| Flash Flood | 4,728 | 338 | 24 | $47.6B |
| Heat | 4,079 | 119 | 405 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
13
Total Paid
$326.3K
Avg Per Claim
$25.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 24.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$6.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Ice Storm Relatively High
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Very Low
Hurricane Very Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Lightning 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: Ice Storm
Ice storms load power lines and tree limbs with accumulating freezing rain until they fail. The characteristic cost is infrastructure and multi-day power loss across a wide area rather than structural damage to buildings, which is why their consequences often outlast the weather that caused them.
Worth noting for Franklin County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Ice Storm carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Hurricane. 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
Franklin County's closest FEMA peer: Saratoga County, NY
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Franklin County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Franklin County shows 20 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Franklin County: 11 of 20 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Franklin County: NRI composite 24.8 (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 Franklin County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Franklin 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: 24.8 (Very Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 20. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 20 FEMA declarations, Franklin 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 Franklin County?
The most common disaster type in Franklin County is Hurricane, with 5 declarations. Other disaster types include Fire (5), Severe Ice Storm (3), Biological (2).
How does Franklin County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Texas average?
The typical Texas county has 20.9 FEMA declaration records; Franklin County has 20, or 4% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 3% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Franklin County received?
Franklin County has received 11 major disaster declarations, representing 55% of all 20 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Franklin County filed?
Franklin County has 13 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $326.3K in payments, with an average of $25.1K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Franklin County?
No. In Franklin County, Ice Storm has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Tornado leads Expected Annual Loss at about $2.2M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Franklin County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Franklin County was 2005, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1998 to 2023.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Franklin County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Franklin County, Texas has an overall risk score of 24.8 out of 100 (Very Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively High and community resilience is Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $6.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Franklin County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Franklin County is Ice Storm (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Tornado (Relatively Moderate) and Hail (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts ice storm here at an average of 1.2 times per year, drawn from 79 historical events on record. 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Franklin County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Texas profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events