FEMA Records
26
High volume
Mississippi · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Itawamba County, MS
26 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 26
- FEMA declarations
- 21
- Major disasters
- 50
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Itawamba County. Its 26 FEMA declarations are 0% above the Mississippi county mean and exceed the count for 75% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 50%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 50%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 26
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 3
- 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 28057 · Itawamba County 26 declarations · rank 767/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-HEAVY · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 26
- MAJOR-HEAVY 81%
- RANK-MID #767
- PHOTO-FINISH Hunterdon
- NRI-LOW 50
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +0%
Nearest declaration peer: Hunterdon, NJ (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Mississippi state profile
Itawamba County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Itawamba County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Hunterdon · near 26
Hunterdon · near
26 declarations
- Itawamba · this county 26
Itawamba · this county
26 declarations
- Pierce · near 26
Pierce · near
26 declarations
- San Sebastián · near 26
San Sebastián · near
26 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Itawamba County carries 26 FEMA declaration records, ranked 767 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Itawamba County ranks in the national declaration registry
Itawamba County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Itawamba County
26 Top 25% higher than 75% 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
Itawamba County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does Itawamba County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 49.6/100 for this county (Relatively Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Very Low (roughly $11.9M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Relatively High) and community resilience (Relatively Moderate) both factor into how that raw exposure plays out on the ground. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Cold Wave stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 1.2 times per year here, based on 22 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 3 claims and $51.6K 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.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Itawamba County's 26 federal records stand 0% above the Mississippi county mean of 25.9. 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.
70 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Itawamba County, MS · 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
19/30
26 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.3x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
13/25
26 declarations (1.0x state county average of 26)
Major Disaster Share Very High
20/25
21 of 26 declarations are major disasters (81%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Itawamba County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Itawamba 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
81%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
50
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Itawamba 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 63 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 282 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 16 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 20 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 3 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 18 modeled event-days per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 1,926 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | an average of 4.1 times 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 14
Hurricane 5
Winter Storm 2
Biological 2
Severe Ice Storm 1
Flood 1
Snowstorm 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Itawamba County's record, 54% 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 - 21 80.8%
of all 26 declarations
Emergency - 5 19.2%
of all 26 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | |
| 2025 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
Show 4 earlier declaration years
| 1994 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 3 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 26 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 26 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4899 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Winter Storm | 2026-02-06 |
| 3640 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 4874 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2025-05-21 |
| 4727 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES. | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-08-12 |
| 4626 | HURRICANE IDA | DR | Hurricane | 2021-10-22 |
| 3569 | HURRICANE IDA | EM | Hurricane | 2021-08-28 |
| 4528 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-05 |
| 3474 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4470 | SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-12-06 |
| 4450 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-06-20 |
| 4429 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-04-23 |
| 4248 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2016-01-04 |
| 4175 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2014-04-30 |
| 1972 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND ASSOCIATED FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-04-29 |
| 3291 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM | Hurricane | 2008-08-30 |
| 1604 | HURRICANE KATRINA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-08-29 |
| 1594 | HURRICANE DENNIS | DR | Hurricane | 2005-07-10 |
| 1470 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND HIGH WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-05-23 |
| 1360 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-02-23 |
| 1265 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, ICE AND FREEZING RAIN | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 1999-01-25 |
Show 6 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1009 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, FREEEZING RAIN AND SLEET | DR | Severe Storm | 1994-02-18 |
| 906 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1991-05-17 |
| 895 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1991-03-05 |
| 888 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1991-01-03 |
| 3032 | DROUGHT & FREEZING | EM | Snowstorm | 1977-02-22 |
| 368 | HEAVY RAINS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1973-03-27 |
Storm Events in Mississippi
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Itawamba County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5,557 | 17 | 60 | $93.9M |
| Flash Flood | 1,551 | 6 | 9 | $83.6M |
| Hail | 1,411 | 0 | 0 | $90.1M |
| Heat | 1,340 | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Tornado | 1,097 | 68 | 610 | $562.0M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
3
Total Paid
$51.6K
Avg Per Claim
$17.2K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 49.6/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$11.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Cold Wave Relatively High
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Landslide Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Hail Very Low
Wildfire Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Winter Weather 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: Cold Wave
Cold Wave measures exposure to extreme cold rather than to snow. Its harm is concentrated in health effects, burst infrastructure and energy demand spikes, and it falls hardest where the building stock and the grid were not built with sustained cold in mind.
Worth noting for Itawamba County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Cold Wave carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Severe Storm. 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
Itawamba County's closest FEMA peer: Pierce County, WA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Itawamba County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Itawamba County shows 26 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Itawamba County: 21 of 26 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Itawamba County: NRI composite 49.6 (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 Itawamba County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Itawamba 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: 49.6 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 26. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 26 FEMA declarations, Itawamba 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 Itawamba County?
The most common disaster type in Itawamba County is Severe Storm, with 14 declarations. Other disaster types include Hurricane (5), Winter Storm (2), Biological (2).
How does Itawamba County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Mississippi average?
FEMA lists 26 declaration records for Itawamba County. That is 0% above the Mississippi county mean of 25.9. Its count is also 25% 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 Itawamba County received?
Itawamba County has received 21 major disaster declarations, representing 81% of all 26 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Itawamba County filed?
Itawamba County has 3 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $51.6K in payments, with an average of $17.2K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Itawamba County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Itawamba County was 1991, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Itawamba County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Itawamba County, Mississippi has an overall risk score of 49.6 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively High; on community resilience, Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $11.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Itawamba County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Itawamba County as of the latest release is Cold Wave (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Lightning (Relatively Moderate) and Earthquake (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts cold wave here at an average of 1.2 times per year, drawn from 22 historical events on record. FEMA derives these ratings from historical event frequency, the assets exposed, and the community's vulnerability profile.
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 Itawamba County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Mississippi profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events