FEMA Records
34
Very high volume
West Virginia · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Kanawha County, WV
34 FEMA disaster declarations (1967-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 34
- FEMA declarations
- 26
- Major disasters
- 95
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Kanawha County. Its 34 FEMA declarations are 41% above the West Virginia county mean and exceed the count for 92% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 5%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 5%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 34
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 2,445
- 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 54039 · Kanawha County 34 declarations · rank 238/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-HIGH · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 34
- MAJOR-MID 76%
- RANK-UPPER #238
- PHOTO-FINISH Sumter
- NRI-HIGH 95
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +41%
Nearest declaration peer: Sumter, FL (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · West Virginia state profile
Kanawha County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Kanawha County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Casey · near 34
Casey · near
34 declarations
- Kanawha · this county 34
Kanawha · this county
34 declarations
- Morgan · near 34
Morgan · near
34 declarations
- Sumter · near 34
Sumter · near
34 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Kanawha County carries 34 FEMA declaration records, ranked 238 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Kanawha County ranks in the national declaration registry
Kanawha County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Kanawha County
34 Top 8% higher than 92% 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
Kanawha County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does Kanawha County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 2,445 claims and $43.0M 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 $17.6K. 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. Kanawha County's 34 federal records stand 41% above the West Virginia county mean of 24.2. 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 94.5/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $142.9M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Moderate and community resilience Very High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Riverine Flooding stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 4.2 times per year here, based on 118 historical events on record.
82 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Kanawha County, WV · 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) Very High
25/30
34 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.6x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
18/25
34 declarations (1.4x state county average of 24)
Major Disaster Share Very High
19/25
26 of 34 declarations are major disasters (76%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Kanawha County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Kanawha 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
76%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
95
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Kanawha 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 4.2 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.5 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 4.2 modeled event-days per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 48 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 9.6 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.9 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 5 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 914 years |
| Avalanche | Relatively Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 51 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 769 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 12 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 3 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 13
Flood 10
Hurricane 3
Snowstorm 3
Biological 2
Winter Storm 1
Chemical 1
Fire 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Kanawha County's record, 38% 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 - 26 76.5%
of all 34 declarations
Emergency - 7 20.6%
of all 34 declarations
Fire Management - 1 2.9%
of all 34 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 3 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2012 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 3 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
Show 9 earlier declaration years
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
| 1967 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 34 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 34 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3639 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 4787 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2024-05-24 |
| 4783 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-05-22 |
| 4756 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2024-01-30 |
| 4605 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2021-05-20 |
| 4517 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-03 |
| 3450 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4273 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2016-06-25 |
| 4210 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-03-31 |
| 3366 | CHEMICAL SPILL | EM | Chemical | 2014-01-10 |
| 4093 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-11-27 |
| 3358 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-29 |
| 4071 | SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-07-23 |
| 3345 | SEVERE STORMS | EM | Severe Storm | 2012-06-30 |
| 1893 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-03-29 |
| 1881 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2010-03-02 |
| 3221 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1558 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-09-20 |
| 1522 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-06-07 |
| 1500 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-11-21 |
Show 14 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1474 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-06-21 |
| 1455 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, RECORD/NEAR RECORD SNOW, HEAVY RAINS, FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-03-14 |
| 1410 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2002-05-05 |
| 2391 | WV - SOUTHEAST FIRE COMPLEX - 11/16/2001 | FM | Fire | 2001-11-16 |
| 1378 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-06-03 |
| 1319 | FLOODING, SEVERE STORMS, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2000-02-28 |
| 1229 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-07-01 |
| 1168 | HEAVY & WIND DRIVEN RAIN, HIGH WINDS,FLOODING,SLIDES | DR | Flood | 1997-03-07 |
| 1084 | BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM) | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-13 |
| 3109 | SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-17 |
| 628 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1980-08-15 |
| 416 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-01-29 |
| 323 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1972-02-27 |
| 224 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1967-03-13 |
Storm Events in West Virginia
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Kanawha County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 3,644 | 4 | 9 | $16.4M |
| Winter Weather | 1,939 | 0 | 22 | $1.3M |
| Flood | 1,127 | 13 | 0 | $109.0M |
| Flash Flood | 1,003 | 33 | 1 | $141.5M |
| Hail | 757 | 1 | 0 | $6.5M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
2,445
Total Paid
$43.0M
Avg Per Claim
$17.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 94.5/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$142.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Winter Weather Relatively High
Hail Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Avalanche Relatively Low
Hurricane Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Drought 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: Riverine Flooding
Riverine Flooding is the model's measure of a watershed draining more water than its channel can carry. Unlike flash flooding it usually builds over days and is forecast in advance, which makes it the hazard where warning time most reliably converts into reduced harm.
Worth noting for Kanawha County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Riverine Flooding 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
Kanawha County's closest FEMA peer: Brazoria County, TX
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Kanawha County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Kanawha County shows 34 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Kanawha County: 26 of 34 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Kanawha County: NRI composite 94.5 (Relatively High).
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 Kanawha County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Kanawha 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: 94.5 (Relatively High).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 34. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Kanawha County's NFIP claims file (2,445 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 Kanawha County?
The most common disaster type in Kanawha County is Severe Storm, with 13 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (10), Hurricane (3), Snowstorm (3).
How does Kanawha County's FEMA declaration record compare with the West Virginia average?
FEMA lists 34 declaration records for Kanawha County. That is 41% above the West Virginia county mean of 24.2. Its count is also 64% 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 Kanawha County received?
Kanawha County has received 26 major disaster declarations, representing 76% of all 34 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Kanawha County filed?
Kanawha County has 2,445 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $43.0M in payments, with an average of $17.6K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Kanawha County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Kanawha County was 2004, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1967 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Kanawha County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Kanawha County, West Virginia has an overall risk score of 94.5 out of 100 (Relatively High). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively Moderate; on community resilience, Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $142.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Kanawha County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Kanawha County as of the latest release is Riverine Flooding (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Landslide (Relatively Moderate) and Heat Wave (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts riverine flooding here at an average of 4.2 times per year, drawn from 118 historical events on record. 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 Kanawha County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · West Virginia profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events