FEMA Records
40
Very high volume
California · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Kern County, CA
40 FEMA disaster declarations (1967-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Fire.
- 40
- FEMA declarations
- 19
- Major disasters
- 99
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Fire
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Kern County. Its 40 FEMA declarations are 40% above the California county mean and exceed the count for 97% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 1%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 1%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 40
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 280
- 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.
How does Kern County compare?
Kern County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
40 Top 3% higher than 97% 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 · 2026-08-03
Kern County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the California county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Kern County is led by Earthquake (about $184.0M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Wildfire 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 Kern County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 280 paid claims, totaling $1.5M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $5.4K 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. Kern County's 40 federal records stand 40% above the California county mean of 28.5. 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 98.9/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $417.0M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively High and community resilience Very Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. 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 180 years here.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 40 entries for Kern County, including 19 Major Disaster records, 40% above the California county mean. Across the 57-year span, that works out to 0.7 declarations a year. Fire leads the file with 17 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
79 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Kern County, CA · 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
29/30
40 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.9x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
18/25
40 declarations (1.4x state county average of 29)
Major Disaster Share Moderate
12/25
19 of 40 declarations are major disasters (48%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
9 different disaster types declared in Kern County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. California Avg
+40%
State avg: 28.5
vs. National Avg
+93%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.7
Over 57 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Kern 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
48%
Mixed major share
NRI risk score
99
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Kern 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 180 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively High | 7.5 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively High | roughly once every 12 years |
| Landslide | Relatively High | an average of 129 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 5.6 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively High | 97 modeled event-days per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 8 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 5.4 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | roughly once every 10 years |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | roughly once every 5,000 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | roughly once every 17 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | roughly once every 7,295 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Fire 17
Flood 7
Severe Storm 6
Freezing 3
Hurricane 2
Biological 2
Earthquake 1
Coastal Storm 1
Drought 1
What Fire declarations mean here
Fire is the most frequent declaration type on Kern County's record, 43% of its declarations. Wildfire is the one hazard here with its own dedicated federal instrument: the Fire Management Assistance Grant, which appears in this data as an FM record. An FMAG can be authorised while a fire is still burning, on a timescale of hours, because its purpose is to reimburse the cost of fighting a fire that threatens to become a major disaster.
That distinction matters when comparing counties. An FM declaration is not a presidential major disaster declaration and does not carry the same assistance programmes, so a fire-heavy county's total is not directly comparable with a hurricane-heavy county's total unless the declaration types are separated, which is why they are listed separately on this page.
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 - 19 47.5%
of all 40 declarations
Fire Management - 15 37.5%
of all 40 declarations
Emergency - 6 15.0%
of all 40 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 4 | |
| 2010 | 4 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
Show 11 earlier declaration years
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 2 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
| 1967 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 40 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 40 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5522 | BOREL FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-07-27 |
| 4750 | TROPICAL STORM HILARY | DR | Hurricane | 2023-11-21 |
| 4699 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-04-03 |
| 3592 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | EM | Flood | 2023-03-10 |
| 5416 | FRENCH FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-08-25 |
| 4482 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-22 |
| 3428 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3415 | EARTHQUAKES | EM | Earthquake | 2019-07-08 |
| 4305 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2017-03-16 |
| 5150 | CEDAR FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-08-22 |
| 5131 | ERSKINE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-06-24 |
| 5075 | WAY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2014-08-19 |
| 2971 | COMANCHE FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2011-09-11 |
| 2970 | KEENE FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2011-09-11 |
| 2961 | CANYON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-09-05 |
| 1952 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND DEBRIS AND MUD FLOWS | DR | Flood | 2011-01-26 |
| 2858 | CANYON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2010-09-15 |
| 2852 | POST FIRE | FM | Fire | 2010-08-24 |
| 2850 | WEST FIRE | FM | Fire | 2010-07-28 |
| 2849 | BULL FIRE | FM | Fire | 2010-07-27 |
Show 20 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3287 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2008-06-28 |
| 1689 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 2007-03-13 |
| 3248 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1585 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUD AND DEBRIS FLOWS | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-04-14 |
| 1577 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, DEBRIS FLOWS, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-02-04 |
| 2474 | CA - TEJON FIRE - 06-30-2003 | FM | Fire | 2003-06-29 |
| 2473 | CA - SAWMILL FIRE - 06-27-2003 | FM | Fire | 2003-06-28 |
| 2450 | DEER FIRE | FM | Fire | 2002-07-22 |
| 1267 | CA-CITRUS CROP DAMAGE 2/2/99 | DR | Freezing | 1999-02-09 |
| 1203 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-02-09 |
| 1046 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING LANDSLIDES, MUD FLOW | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-03-12 |
| 1044 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, MUD FLOWS | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-01-10 |
| 935 | RAIN/SNOW/WIND STORMS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 1992-02-25 |
| 894 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 1991-02-11 |
| 677 | COASTAL STORMS, FLOODS, SLIDES & TORNADOES | DR | Coastal Storm | 1983-02-09 |
| 547 | COASTAL STORMS, MUDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1978-02-15 |
| 3023 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-01-20 |
| 295 | FOREST & BRUSH FIRES | DR | Fire | 1970-09-29 |
| 253 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-01-26 |
| 223 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1967-01-02 |
Storm Events in California
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Kern County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind | 4,070 | 13 | 27 | $228.2M |
| Flood | 3,132 | 26 | 25 | $985.1M |
| Heavy Snow | 1,814 | 6 | 0 | $1.6M |
| Dense Fog | 1,605 | 52 | 148 | $2.8M |
| Drought | 1,421 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
280
Total Paid
$1.5M
Avg Per Claim
$5.4K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 98.9/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$417.0M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Wildfire Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively High
Landslide Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Drought Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Low
Volcanic Activity Very Low
Avalanche Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Tornado Very Low
Cold Wave 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.
For Kern County the two measures on this page point the same way: Wildfire is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively High), and Fire 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
Kern County's closest FEMA peer: Allen Parish, LA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Kern County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Kern County shows 40 FEMA declarations, led by Fire.
Similar Major-disaster share
Kern County: 19 of 40 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Kern County: NRI composite 98.9 (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 Kern County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Kern County's NFIP claims file (280 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).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Kern County?
The most common disaster type in Kern County is Fire, with 17 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (7), Severe Storm (6), Freezing (3).
How does Kern County's FEMA declaration record compare with the California average?
FEMA lists 40 declaration records for Kern County. That is 40% above the California county mean of 28.5. Its count is also 93% 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 Kern County received?
Kern County has received 19 major disaster declarations, representing 48% of all 40 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Kern County filed?
Kern County has 280 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $1.5M in payments, with an average of $5.4K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Kern County?
No. In Kern County, Wildfire has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Earthquake leads Expected Annual Loss at about $184.0M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Kern County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Kern County was 2010, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1967 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Kern County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Kern County, California has an overall risk score of 98.9 out of 100 (Relatively High). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively High; on community resilience, Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $417.0M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Kern County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Kern County as of the latest release is Wildfire (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Heat Wave (Relatively High) and Earthquake (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts wildfire here at roughly once every 180 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.
What this means for Kern County
Kern County, CA has 40 federal declaration records, 40% more than the California county mean of 29; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 19 of 40 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. California overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the California mean and the totals for 97% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- Use the data guide to separate this mid-volume insurance-claims file from declaration counts and modeled NRI risk. Disaster-data guide
An above-average declaration count records past federal responses; it does not predict the next event. Current warnings come from the National Weather Service and local emergency officials.
PlainHazard derives this profile from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries and National Risk Index data. The declaration comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 - all federally-declared disasters for this county. fema.gov/openfema/disaster-declarations
- FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) - per-county per-hazard risk ratings and expected annual loss. hazards.fema.gov/nri
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database - state-level storm/severe-weather event records, 2015-2025. ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.