FEMA Records
7
Low volume
Utah · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Iron County, UT
7 FEMA disaster declarations (1977-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 7
- FEMA declarations
- 3
- Major disasters
- 61
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Start with the local benchmark for Iron County: 7 FEMA declaration records are 17% below the Utah county mean, even though the count is higher than 4% of counties in the national registry. On FEMA's distinct National Risk Index model, which combines expected loss with vulnerability and resilience, the county ranks in the riskiest 39%.
- Riskiest 39%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 7
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 23
- 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 49021 · Iron County 7 declarations · rank 3109/3,266
DECL-LIGHT · MAJOR-LIGHT · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-MODERATE · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-LIGHT 7
- MAJOR-LIGHT 43%
- RANK-LOWER #3,109
- PHOTO-FINISH Clinton
- NRI-LOW 61
- ACT-MODERATE Moderate
- TYPE-LEAD Flood
- VS-ST-BELOW -17%
Nearest declaration peer: Clinton, IL (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Utah state profile
Iron County among counties with fewer federal records
FEMA declaration records among Iron County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Clinton · near 7
Clinton · near
7 declarations
- Iron · this county 7
Iron · this county
7 declarations
- Lea · near 7
Lea · near
7 declarations
- Marinette · near 7
Marinette · near
7 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Iron County carries 7 FEMA declaration records, ranked 3109 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Iron County versus quieter counties in this dataset
Iron County among lower-declaration counties nationally
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Iron County
7 4th percentile higher than 4% 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
Iron County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does Iron County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 61.4/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $30.5M in annualized losses), and a Very Low social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively Low community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Wildfire stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 72 years here.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 23 claims and $194.3K 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 Utah county averages 8.5 federal declaration records, while Iron County has 7. The gap is 17% 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.
39 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Iron County, UT · 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) Low
5/30
7 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.3x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
10/25
7 declarations (0.8x state county average of 8)
Major Disaster Share Moderate
11/25
3 of 7 declarations are major disasters (43%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Iron County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Iron 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
43%
Mixed major share
NRI risk score
61
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Iron 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wildfire | Relatively High | roughly once every 72 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 20 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.9 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 78 years |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 42 times per year |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | roughly once every 3,333 years |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 76 modeled event-days per year |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 30 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.6 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 1.3 modeled event-days per year |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 67 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 6 years |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | roughly once every 30 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 15 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 12 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 2
Biological 2
Fire 1
Coastal Storm 1
Drought 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Iron County's record, 29% 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 - 3 42.9%
of all 7 declarations
Emergency - 3 42.9%
of all 7 declarations
Fire Management - 1 14.3%
of all 7 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 7 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 7 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4752 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2023-12-23 |
| 4525 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-04 |
| 3478 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 5185 | BRIAN HEAD FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-06-18 |
| 3223 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Coastal Storm | 2005-09-05 |
| 1598 | FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2005-08-01 |
| 3024 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-01-20 |
Storm Events in Utah
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Iron County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 1,382 | 3 | 7 | $2.2M |
| Flash Flood | 536 | 29 | 17 | $101.2M |
| High Wind | 496 | 4 | 60 | $12.7M |
| Heavy Snow | 488 | 1 | 2 | $2.4M |
| Winter Storm | 344 | 1 | 36 | $435.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
23
Total Paid
$194.3K
Avg Per Claim
$8.4K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 61.4/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$30.5M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Wildfire Relatively High
Winter Weather Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively High
Volcanic Activity Very Low
Drought Relatively Moderate
Avalanche Very Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Hail 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: Wildfire
Wildfire risk in the model reflects fuel, terrain, weather and how much development sits in the wildland-urban interface. It is one of the few hazards where the exposure is materially changed by land management and building choices, not only by where the county happens to be.
Worth noting for Iron County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Wildfire carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), 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
Iron County's closest FEMA peer: Oconto County, WI
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Iron County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Iron County: NRI composite 61.4 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Iron County: 3 of 7 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Iron County shows 7 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
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 Iron County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Iron 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: 61.4 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 7. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
FEMA's National Risk Index flags Wildfire as the top modeled exposure here (Relatively High); the guide explains how that model differs from declaration counts.
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 Iron County?
The most common disaster type in Iron County is Flood, with 2 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Fire (1), Coastal Storm (1).
How does Iron County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Utah average?
The typical Utah county has 8.5 FEMA declaration records; Iron County has 7, or 17% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 66% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Iron County received?
Iron County has received 3 major disaster declarations, representing 43% of all 7 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Iron County filed?
Iron County has 23 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $194.3K in payments, with an average of $8.4K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Iron County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Iron County was 2005, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1977 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Iron County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Iron County, Utah has an overall risk score of 61.4 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Very Low, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $30.5M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Iron County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Iron County as of the latest release is Wildfire (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Winter Weather (Relatively High) and Landslide (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts wildfire here at roughly once every 72 years. 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 Iron County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Utah profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events