FEMA Records
15
Below median
Tennessee · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Hamblen County, TN
15 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 15
- FEMA declarations
- 9
- Major disasters
- 47
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Hamblen County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 15 declarations, more than 23% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 30% below the Tennessee county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county safer than 47%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Safer than 47%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 15
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 26
- 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 47063 · Hamblen County 15 declarations · rank 2481/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-MID 15
- MAJOR-MID 60%
- RANK-LOWER #2,481
- PHOTO-FINISH Polk
- NRI-LOW 47
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Flood
- VS-ST-BELOW -30%
Nearest declaration peer: Polk, OR (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Tennessee state profile
Hamblen County among counties with fewer federal records
FEMA declaration records among Hamblen County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Flathead · near 15
Flathead · near
15 declarations
- Hamblen · this county 15
Hamblen · this county
15 declarations
- Murray · near 15
Murray · near
15 declarations
- Polk · near 15
Polk · near
15 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Hamblen County carries 15 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2481 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Hamblen County versus quieter counties in this dataset
Hamblen County among lower-declaration counties nationally
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Hamblen County
15 23rd percentile higher than 23% 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
Hamblen County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Hamblen County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $6.2M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Earthquake carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Low). 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 Hamblen County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 47.1/100 for this county (Relatively Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Very Low (roughly $12.1M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Relatively High) and community resilience (Relatively Low) 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. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 297 years here.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 26 claims and $275.3K 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 Tennessee county averages 21.4 federal declaration records, while Hamblen County has 15. The gap is 30% 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.
55 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Hamblen County, TN · 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
11/30
15 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.7x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
9/25
15 declarations (0.7x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
9 of 15 declarations are major disasters (60%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
9 different disaster types declared in Hamblen County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Hamblen 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
60%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
47
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Hamblen 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 297 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 52 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 25 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 5 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 4.5 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 4.7 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 703 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 174 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 17 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 3 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 0.5 modeled event-days per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 3
Winter Storm 2
Severe Storm 2
Tropical Storm 2
Biological 2
Severe Ice Storm 1
Hurricane 1
Snowstorm 1
Tornado 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Hamblen County's record, 20% of its declarations. Federal flood declarations cover two mechanisms that behave very differently: riverine flooding, which builds over days as a watershed drains and is usually forecast well in advance, and flash flooding, which can arrive in under an hour from rainfall that fell somewhere upstream.
Flood is also the one hazard class where a second federal dataset exists for the same events. The National Flood Insurance Program records what was actually paid on insured losses, so it measures a narrower thing than the declaration count: uninsured damage, and flooding outside mapped special flood hazard areas, never enters it. Reading the two together is more informative than either alone.
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 - 9 60.0%
of all 15 declarations
Emergency - 6 40.0%
of all 15 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | |
| 2025 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 15 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 15 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4898 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Winter Storm | 2026-02-06 |
| 3635 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 3625 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | EM | Severe Storm | 2025-04-02 |
| 4832 | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-10-02 |
| 3620 | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-27 |
| 4514 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-02 |
| 3473 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4427 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2019-04-17 |
| 4211 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2015-04-02 |
| 3217 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1215 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-04-20 |
| 1022 | EXTENSIVE RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1994-04-14 |
| 3095 | SEVERE SNOWFALL, WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-14 |
| 424 | TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1974-04-04 |
| 366 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-03-21 |
Storm Events in Tennessee
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Hamblen County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 6,558 | 22 | 58 | $107.0M |
| Hail | 1,690 | 0 | 0 | $545.5K |
| Heat | 1,343 | 9 | 15 | $0 |
| Flash Flood | 1,264 | 55 | 3 | $334.4M |
| Winter Weather | 1,088 | 5 | 0 | $261.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
26
Total Paid
$275.3K
Avg Per Claim
$10.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 47.1/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$12.1M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Earthquake Relatively Low
Landslide Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Drought Relatively Low
Hail Very Low
Heat Wave 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: Earthquake
Earthquake is the model's clearest example of a hazard with no season and no warning. Its expected loss is driven less by how often shaking occurs than by how much of the building stock predates modern seismic codes, so exposure can be high in places where nothing has happened for a long time.
Worth noting for Hamblen County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Earthquake carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Low), while the county's declaration history is led by Flood. 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
Hamblen County's closest FEMA peer: Manassas (city), VA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Hamblen County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Hamblen County shows 15 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
Similar Major-disaster share
Hamblen County: 9 of 15 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Hamblen County: NRI composite 47.1 (Relatively 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 Hamblen County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Hamblen 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: 47.1 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 15. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 15 FEMA declarations, Hamblen 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 Hamblen County?
The most common disaster type in Hamblen County is Flood, with 3 declarations. Other disaster types include Winter Storm (2), Severe Storm (2), Tropical Storm (2).
How does Hamblen County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Tennessee average?
The typical Tennessee county has 21.4 FEMA declaration records; Hamblen County has 15, or 30% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 28% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Hamblen County received?
Hamblen County has received 9 major disaster declarations, representing 60% of all 15 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Hamblen County filed?
Hamblen County has 26 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $275.3K in payments, with an average of $10.6K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Hamblen County?
No. In Hamblen County, Earthquake has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Low), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $6.2M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Hamblen County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Hamblen County was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Hamblen County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Hamblen County, Tennessee has an overall risk score of 47.1 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively High, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $12.1M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Hamblen County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Hamblen County as of the latest release is Earthquake (risk rating: Relatively Low). Other significant hazards include Landslide (Relatively Low) and Lightning (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts earthquake here at roughly once every 297 years. 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Hamblen County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Tennessee profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events