FEMA Records
30
High volume
Oklahoma · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
30 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
The verdict
Jackson County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 30 declarations, more than 86% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 7% below the Oklahoma county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 14%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
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 40065 · Jackson County 30 declarations · rank 432/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-MID · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
Nearest declaration peer: Jefferson, OK (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Oklahoma state profile
FEMA declaration records among Jackson County and nearest peers by total count
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
Clallam · near
30 declarations
Jackson · this county
30 declarations
Jefferson · near
30 declarations
Latimer · near
30 declarations
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Jackson County carries 30 FEMA declaration records, ranked 432 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Jackson County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Jackson County
30 Top 14% higher than 86% 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
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 86.0/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $54.4M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Moderate and community resilience Relatively Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Strong Wind stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 4.1 times per year here, based on 156 historical events on record.
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 7 claims and $6.5K 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 Oklahoma county averages 32.2 federal declaration records, while Jackson County has 30. The gap is 7% 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.
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Jackson County, OK · 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
30 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.4x national county average)
30 declarations (0.9x state county average of 32)
22 of 30 declarations are major disasters (73%)
7 different disaster types declared in Jackson County
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
FEMA Records
30
High volume
Major Disaster share
73%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
86
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind | Very High | an average of 4.1 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 133 modeled event-days per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 9 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 11 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 536 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 7.7 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 918 years |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 156 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 9 years |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 50 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Jackson County's record, 47% 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.
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
of all 30 declarations
of all 30 declarations
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 3 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 3 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 2 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
How the 30 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 30 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4791 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-06-14 |
| 4587 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-24 |
| 3555 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-17 |
| 4575 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2020-12-21 |
| 4530 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-05 |
| 3462 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4438 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-06-01 |
| 4274 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-07-15 |
| 4256 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2016-02-10 |
| 4222 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-05-26 |
| 3316 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2011-02-02 |
| 1883 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2010-03-05 |
| 1876 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-02-25 |
| 3308 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2010-01-30 |
| 1775 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-07-09 |
| 3280 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2007-12-10 |
| 1712 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-07-07 |
| 1678 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-02-01 |
| 3272 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2007-01-14 |
| 1623 | EXTREME WILDFIRE THREAT | DR | Fire | 2006-01-10 |
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3219 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1401 | SEVERE WINTER ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2002-02-01 |
| 1384 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-06-29 |
| 1355 | SEVERE WINTER ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2001-01-05 |
| 1349 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-11-27 |
| 3118 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | EM | Fire | 1996-02-27 |
| 1066 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-09-01 |
| 1058 | TORNADOES, SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 1995-06-26 |
| 693 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1983-10-26 |
| 392 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, & TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 1973-06-13 |
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Jackson County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 5,894 | 0 | 1 | $19.8M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5,592 | 6 | 36 | $199.5M |
| Drought | 2,935 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Heat | 2,134 | 7 | 428 | $0 |
| Excessive Heat | 1,771 | 2 | 401 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
Total Claims
7
Total Paid
$6.5K
Avg Per Claim
$931
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 86.0/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$54.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
Strong Wind covers damaging non-thunderstorm, non-tornadic wind, the kind produced by steep pressure gradients and downslope events. It is a broad, frequent, low-drama hazard: roofs, signage, power lines and high-profile vehicles, spread across a wide area rather than concentrated on a path.
For Jackson County the two measures on this page point the same way: Strong Wind is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Very 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
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Jackson County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Jackson County shows 30 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Jackson County: 22 of 30 of its declarations are Major.
Jackson County: NRI composite 86.0 (Relatively Moderate).
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 Jackson County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Jackson 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.
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA NRI score. This county: 86.0 (Relatively Moderate).
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 30. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Most disaster-prone counties
With 30 FEMA declarations, Jackson County sits in the high-volume declaration band - see how that count ranks against other U.S. counties.
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 Jackson County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Oklahoma profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events