FEMA Records
25
High volume
Tennessee · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Hamilton County, TN
25 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 25
- FEMA declarations
- 18
- Major disasters
- 93
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Hamilton County. Its 25 FEMA declarations are 17% above the Tennessee county mean and exceed the count for 71% 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
- 25
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 1,748
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Fire Management Assistance (FM) records, which are not presidential disaster declarations, alongside Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 47065 · Hamilton County 25 declarations · rank 926/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-MID · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 25
- MAJOR-MID 72%
- RANK-LOWER #926
- PHOTO-FINISH Jefferson
- NRI-MID 93
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +17%
Nearest declaration peer: Jefferson, AR (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Tennessee state profile
Hamilton County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Hamilton County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Benton · near 25
Benton · near
25 declarations
- Hamilton · this county 25
Hamilton · this county
25 declarations
- Jefferson · near 25
Jefferson · near
25 declarations
- Lafayette · near 25
Lafayette · near
25 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Hamilton County carries 25 FEMA declaration records, ranked 926 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Hamilton County ranks in the national declaration registry
Hamilton County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Hamilton County
25 Top 29% higher than 71% 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
Hamilton County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Hamilton County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $75.4M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Tornado 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 Hamilton County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 1,748 claims and $30.3M 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 $17.3K. 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. Hamilton County's 25 federal records stand 17% above the Tennessee county mean of 21.4. 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 93.3/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $140.1M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Low and community resilience Relatively High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Tornado stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 3 years here, based on 27 historical events on record.
71 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Hamilton 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) High
18/30
25 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.2x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
15/25
25 declarations (1.2x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share High
18/25
18 of 25 declarations are major disasters (72%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Hamilton County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Hamilton 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
72%
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 Hamilton 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tornado | Relatively High | roughly once every 3 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 4.6 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 241 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 1.9 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 61 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 1.8 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 823 years |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 64 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 26 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
Severe Storm 11
Flood 5
Winter Storm 2
Biological 2
Fire 2
Hurricane 1
Snowstorm 1
Tornado 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Hamilton County's record, 44% 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 - 18 72.0%
of all 25 declarations
Emergency - 5 20.0%
of all 25 declarations
Fire Management - 2 8.0%
of all 25 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | |
| 2025 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 2 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
Show 4 earlier declaration years
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 25 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 25 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 |
| 4792 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-06-17 |
| 4712 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADO | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-05-17 |
| 4541 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2020-04-24 |
| 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 |
| 5160 | SMITH MOUNTAIN FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2016-11-11 |
| 5159 | FLIPPERS BEND FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-11-09 |
| 4060 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-03-16 |
| 1974 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND ASSOCIATED FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-05-01 |
| 1965 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-03-31 |
| 3217 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1568 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-10-07 |
| 1464 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-05-08 |
| 1260 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 1999-01-15 |
| 1171 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-04-02 |
| 1022 | EXTENSIVE RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1994-04-14 |
Show 5 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3095 | SEVERE SNOWFALL, WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-14 |
| 858 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1990-02-27 |
| 666 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1982-08-24 |
| 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 Hamilton 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
1,748
Total Paid
$30.3M
Avg Per Claim
$17.3K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 93.3/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$140.1M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Tornado Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Winter Weather Relatively High
Ice Storm Relatively High
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Wildfire Relatively Low
Hurricane Relatively Low
Drought Relatively 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: Tornado
Tornado exposure is the most spatially concentrated in the model: total destruction along a narrow corridor with intact property either side. County-level averages therefore understate severity badly for anyone actually in the path, and overstate it for everyone else.
For Hamilton County the two measures on this page point the same way: Tornado is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively High), and Severe Storm declarations also lead its federal record. Where the model and the declaration history agree, the reading is comparatively straightforward, the hazard is both expected and repeatedly realised.
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
Hamilton County's closest FEMA peer: King and Queen County, VA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Hamilton County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Hamilton County shows 25 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Hamilton County: 18 of 25 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Hamilton County: NRI composite 93.3 (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 Hamilton County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Hamilton 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: 93.3 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 25. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Hamilton County's NFIP claims file (1,748 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 Hamilton County?
The most common disaster type in Hamilton County is Severe Storm, with 11 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (5), Winter Storm (2), Biological (2).
How does Hamilton County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Tennessee average?
FEMA lists 25 declaration records for Hamilton County. That is 17% above the Tennessee county mean of 21.4. Its count is also 21% 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 Hamilton County received?
Hamilton County has received 18 major disaster declarations, representing 72% of all 25 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Hamilton County filed?
Hamilton County has 1,748 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $30.3M in payments, with an average of $17.3K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Hamilton County?
No. In Hamilton County, Tornado has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $75.4M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Hamilton County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Hamilton County was 2020, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Hamilton County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Hamilton County, Tennessee has an overall risk score of 93.3 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively Low; on community resilience, Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $140.1M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Hamilton County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Hamilton County is Tornado (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Strong Wind (Relatively High) and Earthquake (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts tornado here at roughly once every 3 years, drawn from 27 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Hamilton County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Tennessee profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events