FEMA Records
36
Very high volume
Oklahoma · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Kay County, OK
36 FEMA disaster declarations (1974-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 36
- FEMA declarations
- 27
- Major disasters
- 80
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Kay County. Its 36 FEMA declarations are 12% above the Oklahoma county mean and exceed the count for 94% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 20%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 20%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 36
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 346
- 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 40071 · Kay County 36 declarations · rank 202/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 36
- MAJOR-MID 75%
- RANK-UPPER #202
- PHOTO-FINISH Hardee
- NRI-LOW 80
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +12%
Nearest declaration peer: Hardee, FL (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Oklahoma state profile
Kay County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Kay County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Hardee · near
Hardee · near
36 declarations
- Kay · this county
Kay · this county
36 declarations
- Pearl River · near
Pearl River · near
36 declarations
- Suffolk · near
Suffolk · near
36 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Kay County carries 36 FEMA declaration records, ranked 202 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Kay County ranks in the national declaration registry
Kay County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Kay County
36 Top 6% higher than 94% 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
Kay County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Kay County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $10.4M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Ice Storm carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High). EAL and risk score use different inputs; they need not agree.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025 release) - Expected Annual Loss vs composite risk rating by hazard.
What does Kay County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 346 paid claims, totaling $3.2M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $9.3K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Kay County's 36 federal records stand 12% above the Oklahoma county mean of 32.2. 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 79.9/100 (Relatively Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Low (roughly $33.6M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively High and community resilience Relatively Moderate, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Ice Storm stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 1 years here, based on 53 historical events on record.
77 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Kay 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
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) Very High
26/30
36 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.7x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
14/25
36 declarations (1.1x state county average of 32)
Major Disaster Share Very High
19/25
27 of 36 declarations are major disasters (75%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Kay County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Kay 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
75%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
80
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Kay 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | an average of 2.7 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 9.6 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 286 years |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 59 modeled event-days per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 17 modeled event-days per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 8.9 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 2.1 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 6.7 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 51 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 986 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 171 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 17
Severe Ice Storm 7
Flood 6
Biological 2
Fire 2
Tornado 1
Hurricane 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Kay 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.
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster - 27 75.0%
of all 36 declarations
Emergency - 8 22.2%
of all 36 declarations
Fire Management - 1 2.8%
of all 36 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 3 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 4 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
Show 7 earlier declaration years
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 2 | |
| 1974 | 3 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 36 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 36 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4776 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 2024-04-30 |
| 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 |
| 4453 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-07-12 |
| 4438 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-06-01 |
| 3411 | FLOODING | EM | Flood | 2019-05-25 |
| 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 |
| 4109 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-04-08 |
| 4064 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-06-14 |
| 3316 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2011-02-02 |
| 1876 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-02-25 |
| 3308 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2010-01-30 |
| 1803 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-10-09 |
| 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 |
Show 16 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1707 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-06-07 |
| 1678 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-02-01 |
| 3272 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2007-01-14 |
| 2633 | PONCA CITY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2006-04-06 |
| 1623 | EXTREME WILDFIRE THREAT | DR | Fire | 2006-01-10 |
| 3219 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1465 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-05-10 |
| 1401 | SEVERE WINTER ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2002-02-01 |
| 1355 | SEVERE WINTER ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2001-01-05 |
| 1066 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-09-01 |
| 991 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1993-05-12 |
| 794 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1987-07-09 |
| 778 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1986-10-14 |
| 419 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-03-22 |
| 409 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-12-10 |
| 404 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-10-13 |
Storm Events in Oklahoma
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Kay 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
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
346
Total Paid
$3.2M
Avg Per Claim
$9.3K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 79.9/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$33.6M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Ice Storm Relatively High
Cold Wave Relatively High
Tornado Relatively High
Hail Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Hurricane 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: Ice Storm
Ice storms load power lines and tree limbs with accumulating freezing rain until they fail. The characteristic cost is infrastructure and multi-day power loss across a wide area rather than structural damage to buildings, which is why their consequences often outlast the weather that caused them.
Worth noting for Kay County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Ice Storm 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
Kay County's closest FEMA peer: Orocovis Municipio, PR
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Kay County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Kay County shows 36 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Kay County: 27 of 36 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Kay County: NRI composite 79.9 (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 Kay County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Kay 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: 79.9 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 36. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Kay County's NFIP claims file (346 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 Kay County?
The most common disaster type in Kay County is Severe Storm, with 17 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Ice Storm (7), Flood (6), Biological (2).
How does Kay County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Oklahoma average?
FEMA lists 36 declaration records for Kay County. That is 12% above the Oklahoma county mean of 32.2. Its count is also 74% 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 Kay County received?
Kay County has received 27 major disaster declarations, representing 75% of all 36 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Kay County filed?
Kay County has 346 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $3.2M in payments, with an average of $9.3K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Kay County?
No. In Kay County, Ice Storm has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $10.4M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Kay County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Kay County was 2007, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1974 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Kay County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Kay County, Oklahoma has an overall risk score of 79.9 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively High, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $33.6M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Kay County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Kay County as of the latest release is Ice Storm (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Cold Wave (Relatively High) and Tornado (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts ice storm here at roughly once every 1 years, drawn from 53 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 Kay County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Oklahoma profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events