FEMA Records
49
Very high volume
Kentucky · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Lawrence County, KY
49 FEMA disaster declarations (1967-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 49
- FEMA declarations
- 40
- Major disasters
- 53
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Lawrence County. Its 49 FEMA declarations are 74% above the Kentucky county mean and exceed the count for 99% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 47%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 47%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 49
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 32
- 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 21127 · Lawrence County 49 declarations · rank 21/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-HEAVY · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-HIGH
- DECL-HEAVY 49
- MAJOR-HEAVY 82%
- RANK-TOP #21
- PHOTO-FINISH Magoffin
- NRI-LOW 53
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-HIGH +74%
Nearest declaration peer: Magoffin, KY (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Kentucky state profile
Lawrence County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Lawrence County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Bay · near
Bay · near
49 declarations
- Lawrence · this county
Lawrence · this county
49 declarations
- Magoffin · near
Magoffin · near
49 declarations
- Rapides · near
Rapides · near
49 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Lawrence County carries 49 FEMA declaration records, ranked 21 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Lawrence County ranks in the national declaration registry
Lawrence County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Lawrence County
49 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
Lawrence County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Lawrence County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $11.4M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Landslide carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate). 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 Lawrence County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 53.3/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Very Low (roughly $13.4M in annualized losses), and a Relatively High social-vulnerability profile combined with Very Low community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Landslide carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 1.2 times per year here.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 32 claims and $467.7K 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.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Lawrence County's 49 federal records stand 74% above the Kentucky county mean of 28.1. 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.
92 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Lawrence County, KY · 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
30/30
49 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density Very High
22/25
49 declarations (1.7x state county average of 28)
Major Disaster Share Very High
20/25
40 of 49 declarations are major disasters (82%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
10 different disaster types declared in Lawrence County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Lawrence 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
82%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
53
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Lawrence 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 4.2 modeled event-days per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.8 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 329 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 8.6 times per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 43 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 765 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 2.8 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 50 times per year |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 3.4 times per year |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 14 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 3.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 23
Flood 11
Snowstorm 4
Severe Ice Storm 3
Biological 2
Fire 2
Winter Storm 1
Tropical Storm 1
Hurricane 1
Tornado 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Lawrence 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 - 40 81.6%
of all 49 declarations
Emergency - 7 14.3%
of all 49 declarations
Fire Management - 2 4.1%
of all 49 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 5 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 4 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 3 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
Show 16 earlier declaration years
| 2003 | 3 | |
| 2002 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 2 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 2 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1967 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 49 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 49 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3633 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 4864 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2025-04-24 |
| 3626 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | EM | Severe Storm | 2025-04-03 |
| 4860 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2025-02-24 |
| 3624 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | EM | Severe Storm | 2025-02-16 |
| 4848 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE HELENE | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-11-26 |
| 4711 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2023-05-09 |
| 4643 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2022-02-27 |
| 4595 | SEVERE, STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2021-04-23 |
| 4592 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-03-31 |
| 4540 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2020-04-24 |
| 4497 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-28 |
| 3469 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4428 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-04-17 |
| 4361 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2018-04-26 |
| 4358 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2018-04-12 |
| 4239 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDE | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-08-12 |
| 4218 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2015-05-12 |
| 4217 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2015-05-01 |
| 4216 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, SNOWSTORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Snowstorm | 2015-04-30 |
Show 29 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4057 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-03-06 |
| 1976 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-05-04 |
| 1841 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODING AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-05-29 |
| 1818 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2009-02-05 |
| 3302 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2009-01-28 |
| 1703 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES, AND ROCKSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-05-25 |
| 3231 | HURRICANE KATRINA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-10 |
| 1523 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-06-10 |
| 1475 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUD AND ROCK SLIDES, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-07-02 |
| 1471 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUD AND ROCK SLIDES, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-06-03 |
| 1454 | SEVERE WINTER ICE AND SNOW STORMS, HEAVY RAIN, FLOODING, TORNADOES, AND MUD AND | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-03-14 |
| 1407 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2002-04-04 |
| 2386 | KY - EASTERN FIRE COMPLEX - 11/02/2001 | FM | Fire | 2001-11-02 |
| 1388 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-08-15 |
| 2350 | KY - EASTERN DISTRICT FIRE COMPLEX - 11/03/00 | FM | Fire | 2000-11-04 |
| 1320 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-02-28 |
| 1216 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES,AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-04-29 |
| 1207 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-03-03 |
| 1163 | SEVERE STORM, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-03-04 |
| 1089 | BLIZZARD OF 96 | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-13 |
| 1055 | TORNADOES, SEVERE WINDS, HAIL | DR | Tornado | 1995-06-13 |
| 1018 | SEVERE WEATHER, FREEZING RAIN, SLEET, SNW | DR | Snowstorm | 1994-03-16 |
| 3104 | SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-16 |
| 893 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1991-01-29 |
| 821 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1989-02-24 |
| 705 | HIGH WINDS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1984-05-15 |
| 568 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1978-12-12 |
| 529 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1977-04-06 |
| 226 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1967-03-27 |
Storm Events in Kentucky
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Lawrence County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 6,702 | 9 | 56 | $55.2M |
| Flash Flood | 1,757 | 65 | 16 | $42.6M |
| Flood | 1,646 | 31 | 6 | $37.1M |
| Hail | 1,534 | 1 | 0 | $4.7M |
| Winter Weather | 1,079 | 14 | 54 | $655.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
32
Total Paid
$467.7K
Avg Per Claim
$14.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 53.3/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$13.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Hail Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Drought Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Avalanche 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: Landslide
Landslide risk is a function of slope, soil and water, so it is usually a SECOND-ORDER hazard: it is triggered by the rainfall, snowmelt, wildfire burn scars or seismic shaking that came first. That is why a county can carry high landslide exposure whose realized damage is recorded under a flood or storm declaration instead.
Worth noting for Lawrence County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Landslide carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), 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
Lawrence County's closest FEMA peer: Bay County, FL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Lawrence County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Lawrence County shows 49 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Lawrence County: 40 of 49 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Lawrence County: NRI composite 53.3 (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 Lawrence County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Lawrence 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: 53.3 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 49. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 49 FEMA declarations, Lawrence County sits in the high-volume declaration band - see how that count ranks against other U.S. counties.
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 Lawrence County?
The most common disaster type in Lawrence County is Severe Storm, with 23 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (11), Snowstorm (4), Severe Ice Storm (3).
How does Lawrence County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Kentucky average?
FEMA lists 49 declaration records for Lawrence County. That is 74% above the Kentucky county mean of 28.1. Its count is also 136% 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 Lawrence County received?
Lawrence County has received 40 major disaster declarations, representing 82% of all 49 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Lawrence County filed?
Lawrence County has 32 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $467.7K in payments, with an average of $14.6K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Lawrence County?
No. In Lawrence County, Landslide has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $11.4M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Lawrence County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Lawrence County was 2025, with 5 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1967 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Lawrence County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Lawrence County, Kentucky has an overall risk score of 53.3 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively High; on community resilience, Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $13.4M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Lawrence County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Lawrence County as of the latest release is Landslide (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Heat Wave (Relatively Low) and Riverine Flooding (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts landslide here at an average of 1.2 times per year. FEMA derives these ratings from historical event frequency, the assets exposed, and the community's vulnerability profile.
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 Lawrence County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Kentucky profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events