FEMA Records
28
High volume
North Carolina · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Guilford County, NC
28 FEMA disaster declarations (1977-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 28
- FEMA declarations
- 14
- Major disasters
- 93
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Guilford County. Its 28 FEMA declarations are 17% above the North Carolina county mean and exceed the count for 81% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 7%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 7%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 28
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 680
- 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 Guilford County compare?
Guilford County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
28 Top 19% higher than 81% 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
Guilford County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the North Carolina county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Guilford County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $100.5M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Ice Storm 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 Guilford County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 680 claims and $9.4M 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 $13.8K. 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. Guilford County's 28 federal records stand 17% above the North Carolina county mean of 24.0. 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 93.4/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $134.6M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Moderate and community resilience Relatively Moderate, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Ice Storm stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 1.9 times per year here, based on 126 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 28 entries for Guilford County, including 14 Major Disaster records, 17% above the North Carolina county mean. Across the 49-year span, that works out to 0.6 declarations a year. Hurricane leads the file with 12 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
68 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Guilford County, NC · 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) High
20/30
28 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
15/25
28 declarations (1.2x state county average of 24)
Major Disaster Share High
13/25
14 of 28 declarations are major disasters (50%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
9 different disaster types declared in Guilford County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. North Carolina Avg
+17%
State avg: 24.0
vs. National Avg
+35%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.6
Over 49 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Guilford 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
50%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
93
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Guilford 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 | Very High | an average of 1.9 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 3.1 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 8 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 47 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 4.8 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 11 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 4 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 708 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 1.8 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.2 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 18 modeled event-days per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 13,299 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 12
Snowstorm 4
Severe Ice Storm 3
Tropical Storm 2
Biological 2
Severe Storm 2
Winter Storm 1
Tornado 1
Drought 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Guilford County's federal record, 43% 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).
Emergency - 14 50.0%
of all 28 declarations
Major Disaster - 14 50.0%
of all 28 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 3 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 3 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
Show 2 earlier declaration years
| 1989 | 2 | |
| 1977 | 2 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 28 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 28 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3637 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 3617 | HURRICANE HELENE | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-26 |
| 3608 | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-06 |
| 3586 | HURRICANE IAN | EM | Hurricane | 2022-10-01 |
| 3534 | HURRICANE ISAIAS | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-02 |
| 4487 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3471 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3423 | HURRICANE DORIAN | EM | Hurricane | 2019-09-03 |
| 4393 | HURRICANE FLORENCE | DR | Hurricane | 2018-09-14 |
| 3401 | HURRICANE FLORENCE | EM | Hurricane | 2018-09-10 |
| 4364 | TORNADO AND SEVERE STORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 2018-05-08 |
| 3380 | HURRICANE MATTHEW | EM | Hurricane | 2016-10-07 |
| 4167 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2014-03-31 |
| 3222 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1553 | HURRICANE IVAN | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-18 |
| 1457 | ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2003-03-27 |
| 1448 | SEVERE ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2002-12-12 |
| 1312 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-01-31 |
| 1292 | HURRICANE FLOYD MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATIONS | DR | Hurricane | 1999-09-16 |
| 3146 | HURRICANE FLOYD EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS | EM | Hurricane | 1999-09-15 |
Show 8 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1134 | HURRICANE FRAN | DR | Hurricane | 1996-09-06 |
| 1103 | WINTER STORM | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-02-23 |
| 1087 | BLIZZARD OF 96 | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-13 |
| 3110 | SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-17 |
| 844 | HURRICANE HUGO | DR | Hurricane | 1989-09-25 |
| 827 | TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1989-05-17 |
| 3049 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-08-11 |
| 3033 | DROUGHT & FREEZING | EM | Snowstorm | 1977-03-02 |
Storm Events in North Carolina
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Guilford County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,123 | 11 | 60 | $62.9M |
| Flash Flood | 1,881 | 105 | 6 | $2.3B |
| Hail | 1,623 | 0 | 0 | $122.5M |
| Winter Weather | 1,272 | 6 | 2 | $425.0K |
| Winter Storm | 743 | 7 | 0 | $10.7M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
680
Total Paid
$9.4M
Avg Per Claim
$13.8K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 93.4/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$134.6M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Ice Storm Very High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Winter Weather Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Hail Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively 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: 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 Guilford County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Ice Storm carries the highest modeled rating (Very 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
Guilford County's closest FEMA peer: Beaver County, OK
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Guilford County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Guilford County shows 28 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Guilford County: 14 of 28 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Guilford County: NRI composite 93.4 (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 Guilford County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Guilford County's NFIP claims file (680 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 Guilford County?
The most common disaster type in Guilford County is Hurricane, with 12 declarations. Other disaster types include Snowstorm (4), Severe Ice Storm (3), Tropical Storm (2).
How does Guilford County's FEMA declaration record compare with the North Carolina average?
FEMA lists 28 declaration records for Guilford County. That is 17% above the North Carolina county mean of 24.0. Its count is also 35% 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 Guilford County received?
Guilford County has received 14 major disaster declarations, representing 50% of all 28 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Guilford County filed?
Guilford County has 680 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $9.4M in payments, with an average of $13.8K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Guilford County?
No. In Guilford County, Ice Storm has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $100.5M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Guilford County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Guilford County was 1996, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1977 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Guilford County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Guilford County, North Carolina has an overall risk score of 93.4 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively Moderate; on community resilience, Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $134.6M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Guilford County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Guilford County is Ice Storm (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Riverine Flooding (Relatively High) and Winter Weather (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts ice storm here at an average of 1.9 times per year, drawn from 126 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.
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 Guilford County
Guilford County, NC has 28 federal declaration records, 17% more than the North Carolina county mean of 24; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, emergency leads with 14 of 28 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. North Carolina overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the North Carolina mean and the totals for 81% 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.