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West Virginia · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index

Harrison County, WV

2 FEMA disaster declarations (2024–2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Winter Storm.

2
FEMA declarations
1
Major disasters
74
NRI risk · Relatively Low
Winter Storm
Top hazard

FEMA's National Risk Index places Harrison County in the top 26% of U.S. counties for overall natural-hazard risk, and its FEMA disaster-declaration count is higher than 22% of all 2,729 counties tracked.

How does Harrison County compare?

FEMA disaster declarations, this county versus the West Virginia county average and the national county average.

Harrison County
2
West Virginia county avg
2.1
National county avg
3.7

How disaster-prone is Harrison County?

Harrison County, West Virginia has recorded 2 FEMA disaster declarations between 2024 and 2026, of which 1 were classified as Major Disaster declarations (DR) requiring federal individual and public assistance. That puts the county's average at 1.0 declarations per year across a 2-year record, or roughly 7% below the West Virginia county average of 2.1 and 47% below the national county average of 3.7. Declaration counts reflect federal recognition of event severity, not pure hazard frequency, smaller incidents handled locally never appear in FEMA's ledger.

The dominant disaster type on record is Winter Storm, with 1 of 2 declarations falling under this category. FEMA's National Risk Index assigns this county an overall risk rating of Relatively Low (composite score 73.6/100), driven by an Expected Annual Loss rating of Relatively Low equivalent to roughly $28.2M in annualized losses. Social vulnerability scores Relatively Moderate and community resilience scores Very High - two factors that modify raw hazard exposure into actual harm. The single highest-risk natural hazard identified for this county is Landslide (Relatively Low).

NFIP flood insurance claims data for this county is not present in the FEMA claims extract, which typically indicates either low historical flood activity or low policy penetration. Taken together, these indicators place Harrison County at a low relative risk level for federally recognized disasters. Households should pair this historical lens with forward-looking hazard maps, flood zones, wildfire risk overlays, and seismic zones published by FEMA and state emergency management, before making preparedness, insurance, or relocation decisions.

Risk Assessment

How Harrison County's disaster history compares to state and national averages.

Risk Level

Low

vs. West Virginia Avg

-7%

State avg: 2.1

vs. National Avg

-47%

National avg: 3.7

Avg Per Year

1.0

Over 2 years

FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Harrison County

Harrison County NRI risk profile 8-axis FEMA National Risk Index radar showing per-hazard composite scores for Earthquake 8, Flood 0, Hurricane 25, Tornado 25, Wildfire 8, Drought 25, Heat Wave 25, Winter Storm 25. Overall composite 18 of 100, classified Low. Earthquake Flood Hurricane Tornado Wildfire Drought Heat Wave Winter Storm 18 composite
Harrison County NRI risk profile FIPS 54033 · composite 18/100 (Low)

The radar plots Harrison County's relative exposure to the eight headline natural hazards used by the FEMA National Risk Index. Each axis is the qualitative NRI risk rating (Very Low through Very High) re-expressed on a 0-100 scale so that the polygon shape lets you compare a county against another at a glance.

FEMA Records

2

Total declarations

NRI Source

FEMA 2023

Latest NRI release

County FIPS

54033

WV state code

Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, 2023 release

Disaster Types

Breakdown of 2 FEMA disaster declarations in Harrison County by incident type.

Winter Storm 1
Flood 1

Declaration Types

FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).

Emergency - 1 50.0%

of all 2 declarations

Major Disaster - 1 50.0%

of all 2 declarations

FEMA Declarations Timeline

Disaster declarations per year for Harrison County.

Year Declarations
2026 1
2024 1

Disaster Declarations

All 2 FEMA disaster declarations for Harrison County, West Virginia.

DR# Title Type Incident Date
3639 SEVERE WINTER STORM EM Winter Storm 2026-01-24
4756 SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES DR Flood 2024-01-30

Storm Events in West Virginia

NOAA severe weather data for West Virginia (2015–2025). Storm event data is tracked at the state level.

Storm Type Events Fatalities Injuries Property Damage
Thunderstorm Wind 4,325 5 11 $18.3M
Winter Weather 2,269 0 22 $1.3M
Flood 1,411 13 0 $119.1M
Flash Flood 1,247 45 1 $152.6M
Hail 861 1 0 $6.5M

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015–2025

FEMA National Risk Index

FEMA's composite risk score combining 18 natural hazard types, social vulnerability, and community resilience for Harrison County.

Overall Risk

Relatively Low

Score: 73.6/100

Expected Annual Loss

Relatively Low

$28.2M/year

Social Vulnerability

Relatively Moderate

Community Resilience

Very High

Hazard Risk Breakdown

Risk rating for each of the 18 FEMA NRI natural hazard types in Harrison County.

Landslide Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Avalanche Very Low

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri

Counties with Similar Risk in West Virginia

Other West Virginia counties with similar disaster declaration counts.

Disaster Preparedness Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

How many natural disasters has Harrison County, West Virginia had?
Harrison County, West Virginia has received 2 FEMA disaster declarations from 2024 to 2026. Of these, 1 were major disaster declarations.
What is the most common disaster type in Harrison County?
The most common disaster type in Harrison County is Winter Storm, with 1 declaration. Other disaster types include Flood (1).
How does Harrison County's disaster risk compare to the West Virginia average?
Harrison County has 2 disaster declarations, which is 7% lower than the West Virginia county average of 2.1 declarations. Compared to the national county average of 3.7, it is 47% lower.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Harrison County received?
Harrison County has received 1 major disaster declaration, representing 50% of all 2 disaster declarations. Major disaster declarations typically involve significant damage requiring federal assistance.
What types of storms are most common in West Virginia?
The most common storm types in West Virginia include Thunderstorm Wind (4,325 events), Winter Weather (2,269 events), Flood (1,411 events). NOAA storm event data covers severe weather from 2015 to 2025.
What was the worst year for disasters in Harrison County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Harrison County was 2024, with 1 declaration. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 2024 to 2026.
What is the overall disaster risk level for Harrison County?
Based on FEMA declaration history, Harrison County has a low disaster risk level with 2 total declarations. This county has relatively few disaster declarations compared to the national average.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Harrison County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Harrison County, West Virginia has an overall risk score of 73.6 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Moderate and community resilience is Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $28.2M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Harrison County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Harrison County is Landslide (risk rating: Relatively Low). Other significant hazards include Hail (Relatively Moderate) and Lightning (Relatively Moderate). 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.

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 Harrison County

Harrison County, WV has 2 FEMA disaster declarations on record, a low historical disaster load, 7% below the West Virginia county average.

Historical declaration counts describe past federal response, not a forecast. For current threats, follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.

All federal data sources used on this page
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. This page draws directly on FEMA federal disaster data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.