FEMA Records
40
Very high volume
New Hampshire · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Grafton County, NH
40 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 40
- FEMA declarations
- 29
- Major disasters
- 82
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Grafton County. Its 40 FEMA declarations are 25% above the New Hampshire 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 18%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 18%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 40
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 363
- 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 33009 · Grafton County 40 declarations · rank 100/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-MID · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 40
- MAJOR-MID 73%
- RANK-UPPER #100
- PHOTO-FINISH Essex
- NRI-MID 82
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +25%
Nearest declaration peer: Essex, MA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · New Hampshire state profile
Grafton County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Grafton County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Essex · near
Essex · near
40 declarations
- Grafton · this county
Grafton · this county
40 declarations
- Okfuskee · near
Okfuskee · near
40 declarations
- Tulsa · near
Tulsa · near
40 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Grafton County carries 40 FEMA declaration records, ranked 100 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Grafton County ranks in the national declaration registry
Grafton County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Grafton County
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 · 2026-08-25
Grafton County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Grafton County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $43.0M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Landslide carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate). 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 Grafton County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 363 paid claims, totaling $4.7M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $13.0K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Grafton County's 40 federal records stand 25% above the New Hampshire county mean of 31.9. 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 81.8/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Low (roughly $50.4M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Low and community resilience Relatively High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Landslide carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 3.3 times per year here.
81 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Grafton County, NH · 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
16/25
40 declarations (1.3x state county average of 32)
Major Disaster Share High
18/25
29 of 40 declarations are major disasters (73%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Grafton County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Grafton 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
73%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
82
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Grafton 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | an average of 3.3 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 22 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 4.3 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 20 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 16 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Avalanche | Relatively Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 729 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 3.9 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 1 modeled event-day per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 58,859 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 6 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 1.6 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 17
Flood 8
Hurricane 6
Snowstorm 5
Biological 2
Winter Storm 1
Severe Ice Storm 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Grafton County's record, 43% 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 - 29 72.5%
of all 40 declarations
Emergency - 11 27.5%
of all 40 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | |
| 2023 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 3 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 3 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
Show 11 earlier declaration years
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 2 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4812 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-08-20 |
| 4799 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Winter Storm | 2024-07-10 |
| 4771 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-04-19 |
| 4761 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-02-27 |
| 4740 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2023-09-14 |
| 4693 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-03-15 |
| 4516 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-03 |
| 3445 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4457 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-08-15 |
| 4355 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2018-01-02 |
| 4329 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2017-08-09 |
| 4139 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-08-02 |
| 4095 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-11-28 |
| 3360 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-30 |
| 3344 | SEVERE STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2011-11-01 |
| 4026 | TROPICAL STORM IRENE | DR | Hurricane | 2011-09-03 |
| 3333 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-27 |
| 4006 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2011-07-22 |
| 1892 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-03-29 |
| 1812 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2009-01-02 |
Show 20 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3297 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2008-12-13 |
| 1787 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-09-05 |
| 1695 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-04-27 |
| 1643 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-05-25 |
| 1610 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-10-26 |
| 3258 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-19 |
| 3207 | RECORD AND/OR NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2005-03-30 |
| 3208 | RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2005-03-30 |
| 3193 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2004-01-15 |
| 3166 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2001-03-28 |
| 1305 | TROPICAL STORM FLOYD | DR | Hurricane | 1999-10-18 |
| 1231 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-07-02 |
| 1199 | SEVERE ICE STORM, RAINS AND HIGH WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-01-15 |
| 1144 | FALL NORTHEASTER RAINSTORM | DR | Flood | 1996-10-29 |
| 1077 | EXCESSIVE RAINFALL, HIGH WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1996-01-03 |
| 3101 | BLIZZARDS, HIGH WINDS & RECORD SNOWFALL | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-16 |
| 876 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1990-08-29 |
| 789 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1987-04-16 |
| 411 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-01-21 |
| 399 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-07-11 |
Storm Events in New Hampshire
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Grafton County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 921 | 3 | 48 | $1.9M |
| Heavy Snow | 344 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Winter Storm | 300 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Hail | 278 | 0 | 0 | $17.1K |
| Flash Flood | 256 | 0 | 1 | $26.9M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
363
Total Paid
$4.7M
Avg Per Claim
$13.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 81.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$50.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Avalanche Relatively Low
Earthquake Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Hail Very Low
Drought 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: Landslide
Landslide risk is a function of slope, soil and water, so it is usually a SECOND-ORDER hazard: it is triggered by the rainfall, snowmelt, wildfire burn scars or seismic shaking that came first. That is why a county can carry high landslide exposure whose realized damage is recorded under a flood or storm declaration instead.
Worth noting for Grafton County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Landslide carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), 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
Grafton County's closest FEMA peer: Mobile County, AL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Grafton County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Grafton County shows 40 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Grafton County: 29 of 40 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Grafton County: NRI composite 81.8 (Relatively Moderate).
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 Grafton County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Grafton 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: 81.8 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 40. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Grafton County's NFIP claims file (363 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).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Grafton County?
The most common disaster type in Grafton County is Severe Storm, with 17 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (8), Hurricane (6), Snowstorm (5).
How does Grafton County's FEMA declaration record compare with the New Hampshire average?
FEMA lists 40 declaration records for Grafton County. That is 25% above the New Hampshire county mean of 31.9. 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 Grafton County received?
Grafton County has received 29 major disaster declarations, representing 73% of all 40 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Grafton County filed?
Grafton County has 363 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $4.7M in payments, with an average of $13.0K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Grafton County?
No. In Grafton County, Landslide has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $43.0M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Grafton County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Grafton County was 2024, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Grafton County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Grafton County, New Hampshire has an overall risk score of 81.8 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Low, while community resilience comes in at Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $50.4M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Grafton County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Grafton County is Landslide (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Winter Weather (Relatively High) and Riverine Flooding (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts landslide here at an average of 3.3 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Grafton County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · New Hampshire profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events