FEMA Records
17
Below median
Illinois · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Lake County, IL
17 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Snowstorm.
- 17
- FEMA declarations
- 11
- Major disasters
- 96
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Snowstorm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Lake County. Its 17 FEMA declarations are 32% above the Illinois county mean and exceed the count for 32% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 4%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 4%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 17
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 2,455
- 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.
How does Lake County compare?
Lake County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
17 32nd percentile higher than 32% 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
Lake County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Illinois county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Lake County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $155.5M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Cold Wave carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Very 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 Lake County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 2,455 claims and $28.4M 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 $11.6K. 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. Lake County's 17 federal records stand 32% above the Illinois county mean of 12.9. 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.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 96.0/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $266.5M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Very Low and community resilience Relatively High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Cold Wave stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 4.6 times per year here, based on 86 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 17 entries for Lake County, including 11 Major Disaster records, 32% above the Illinois county mean. Across the 55-year span, that works out to 0.3 declarations a year. Snowstorm leads the file with 5 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
60 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Lake County, IL · 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) Moderate
12/30
17 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.8x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
17/25
17 declarations (1.3x state county average of 13)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
11 of 17 declarations are major disasters (65%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Lake County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Illinois Avg
+32%
State avg: 12.9
vs. National Avg
-18%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.3
Over 55 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Lake 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
65%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
96
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Lake 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 | Very High | an average of 4.6 times per year |
| Tornado | Very High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Strong Wind | Very High | an average of 5.5 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 2 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 37 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 2.5 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 4.1 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1,008 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 16 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 11 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 14,502 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 7.2 modeled event-days per year |
| Coastal Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 73 years |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 174 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Snowstorm 5
Flood 4
Severe Storm 3
Biological 2
Tornado 2
Hurricane 1
What Snowstorm declarations mean here
Snowstorm is the most frequent declaration type on Lake County's record, 29% of its declarations. Snow-related declarations work on a narrower basis than most other hazards: they are generally issued to reimburse the cost of snow removal and emergency protective measures, rather than to repair destroyed property.
The qualifying test is unusual too. FEMA assesses snowfall against record levels for the affected area, so the same storm total can qualify in a county where it is historically extreme and not qualify a few hundred miles north where it is an ordinary winter. A low snowstorm declaration count is therefore not evidence of mild winters.
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 - 11 64.7%
of all 17 declarations
Emergency - 6 35.3%
of all 17 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1967 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 17 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 17 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4489 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-26 |
| 3435 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4116 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2013-05-10 |
| 1960 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2011-03-17 |
| 1771 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-06-24 |
| 3283 | RECORD SNOW AND NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2008-03-13 |
| 1729 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-09-25 |
| 3230 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-07 |
| 3161 | ILLINOIS WINTER SNOW STORMS | EM | Snowstorm | 2001-01-17 |
| 3134 | IL-WINTER STORM 1/1/99 | EM | Snowstorm | 1999-01-08 |
| 1110 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 1996-04-23 |
| 997 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-07-09 |
| 776 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1986-10-07 |
| 3068 | BLIZZARDS & SNOWSTORMS | EM | Snowstorm | 1979-01-16 |
| 373 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-04-26 |
| 227 | TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1967-04-25 |
| 194 | TORNADOES, SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 1965-04-25 |
Storm Events in Illinois
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Lake County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,218 | 9 | 67 | $46.0M |
| Hail | 3,195 | 0 | 0 | $27.1M |
| Winter Weather | 1,363 | 14 | 49 | $1.8M |
| Flood | 1,221 | 14 | 11 | $84.3M |
| Flash Flood | 1,133 | 11 | 3 | $1.1B |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
2,455
Total Paid
$28.4M
Avg Per Claim
$11.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 96.0/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$266.5M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Cold Wave Very High
Tornado Very High
Strong Wind Very High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Landslide Very Low
Wildfire Very Low
Drought Relatively Low
Coastal Flooding 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: 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.
For Lake County the two measures on this page point the same way: Cold Wave is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Very High), and Snowstorm 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
Lake County's closest FEMA peer: Pasco County, FL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Lake County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Lake County: NRI composite 96.0 (Relatively High).
Similar Major-disaster share
Lake County: 11 of 17 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Lake County shows 17 FEMA declarations, led by Snowstorm.
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 Lake County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Lake County's NFIP claims file (2,455 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 Lake County?
The most common disaster type in Lake County is Snowstorm, with 5 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (4), Severe Storm (3), Biological (2).
How does Lake County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Illinois average?
FEMA lists 17 declaration records for Lake County. That is 32% above the Illinois county mean of 12.9. Its count is also 18% below 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 Lake County received?
Lake County has received 11 major disaster declarations, representing 65% of all 17 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Lake County filed?
Lake County has 2,455 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $28.4M in payments, with an average of $11.6K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Lake County?
No. In Lake County, Cold Wave has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $155.5M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Lake County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Lake County was 2008, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Lake County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Lake County, Illinois has an overall risk score of 96.0 out of 100 (Relatively High). On social vulnerability the county rates Very Low; on community resilience, Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $266.5M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Lake County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Lake County as of the latest release is Cold Wave (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Tornado (Very High) and Strong Wind (Very High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts cold wave here at an average of 4.6 times per year, drawn from 86 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.
What this means for Lake County
Lake County, IL has 17 federal declaration records, 32% more than the Illinois county mean of 13; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 11 of 17 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. Illinois overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the Illinois mean and the totals for 32% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- The large NFIP claims file and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records; the guide explains where they overlap and where they do not. 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.