FEMA Records
45
Very high volume
Florida · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Lee County, FL
45 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2025), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 45
- FEMA declarations
- 26
- Major disasters
- 99
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Lee County. Its 45 FEMA declarations are 11% above the Florida county mean and exceed the count for 98% 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
- 45
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 48,493
- 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 12071 · Lee County 45 declarations · rank 49/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-HIGH · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 45
- MAJOR-MID 58%
- RANK-UPPER #49
- PHOTO-FINISH Plaquemines
- NRI-HIGH 99
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +11%
Nearest declaration peer: Plaquemines, LA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Florida state profile
Lee County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Lee County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Brevard · near
Brevard · near
45 declarations
- Lee · this county
Lee · this county
45 declarations
- Plaquemines · near
Plaquemines · near
45 declarations
- Wakulla · near
Wakulla · near
45 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Lee County carries 45 FEMA declaration records, ranked 49 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Lee County ranks in the national declaration registry
Lee County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Lee County
45 Top 2% higher than 98% 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
Lee County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does Lee County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 48,493 claims and $4.0B 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 $81.6K. 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. Lee County's 45 federal records stand 11% above the Florida county mean of 40.4. 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 99.0/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $433.3M 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, Hurricane stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 4 years here, based on 106 historical events on record.
76 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Lee County, FL · 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
45 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.2x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
14/25
45 declarations (1.1x state county average of 40)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
26 of 45 declarations are major disasters (58%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Lee County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Lee 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
58%
Major-heavy
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 Lee 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Very High | roughly once every 4 years |
| Lightning | Very High | an average of 102 times per year |
| Coastal Flooding | Very High | an average of 2.9 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 146 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 2.4 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.4 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 3 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 7.8 modeled event-days per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 12 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 4,608 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 21
Fire 6
Tropical Storm 5
Freezing 5
Severe Storm 4
Biological 2
Coastal Storm 2
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Lee County's federal record, 47% of its declarations. Atlantic tropical systems run on a defined season, 1 June to 30 November, with most activity concentrated between August and October; Pacific and territorial basins run on their own calendars. A single named storm routinely produces one declaration number covering a long corridor of counties at once, well inland as well as on the coast, which is why an affected county's count can jump by several in one year without several separate events having occurred.
One practical distinction matters when reading these records: a tropical declaration usually bundles wind, storm surge and inland rainfall flooding under a single incident, but the insurance behind them is split. Wind damage falls to property insurers, while flood and surge damage is covered only under a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy. That is why a county can show heavy declaration activity and a comparatively small NFIP claims record, or the reverse.
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 57.8%
of all 45 declarations
Emergency - 15 33.3%
of all 45 declarations
Fire Management - 4 8.9%
of all 45 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 4 | |
| 2023 | 4 | |
| 2022 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 3 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 4 | |
| 2001 | 3 | |
Show 11 earlier declaration years
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1985 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
| 1971 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 45 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 45 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4834 | HURRICANE MILTON | DR | Hurricane | 2024-10-11 |
| 3622 | HURRICANE MILTON | EM | Hurricane | 2024-10-07 |
| 4828 | HURRICANE HELENE | DR | Hurricane | 2024-09-28 |
| 3615 | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-24 |
| 4806 | HURRICANE DEBBY | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-10 |
| 3605 | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-03 |
| 4734 | HURRICANE IDALIA | DR | Hurricane | 2023-08-31 |
| 3596 | TROPICAL STORM IDALIA | EM | Tropical Storm | 2023-08-28 |
| 4680 | HURRICANE NICOLE | DR | Hurricane | 2022-12-13 |
| 3587 | TROPICAL STORM NICOLE | EM | Tropical Storm | 2022-11-08 |
| 4673 | HURRICANE IAN | DR | Hurricane | 2022-09-29 |
| 3584 | TROPICAL STORM IAN | EM | Hurricane | 2022-09-24 |
| 3561 | TROPICAL STORM ELSA | EM | Severe Storm | 2021-07-04 |
| 4486 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3432 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3419 | HURRICANE DORIAN | EM | Hurricane | 2019-08-30 |
| 4337 | HURRICANE IRMA | DR | Hurricane | 2017-09-10 |
| 3385 | HURRICANE IRMA | EM | Hurricane | 2017-09-05 |
| 5179 | LEHIGH ACRES (ANNA AVE. N.) FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-04-22 |
| 4068 | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-07-03 |
Show 25 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1785 | TROPICAL STORM FAY | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-08-24 |
| 3288 | TROPICAL STORM FAY | EM | Severe Storm | 2008-08-21 |
| 2692 | CALLOOSAHATCHEE FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2007-05-09 |
| 1609 | HURRICANE WILMA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-10-24 |
| 3220 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1561 | HURRICANE JEANNE | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-26 |
| 1551 | HURRICANE IVAN | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-16 |
| 1545 | HURRICANE FRANCES | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-04 |
| 1539 | TROPICAL STORM BONNIE AND HURRICANE CHARLEY | DR | Hurricane | 2004-08-13 |
| 1393 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL STORM GABRIELLE | DR | Coastal Storm | 2001-09-28 |
| 2355 | FL - CALOOSAHATCHEE FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2001-02-19 |
| 1359 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 2001-02-05 |
| 3150 | TROPICAL STORM IRENE - FLORIDA | EM | Hurricane | 1999-10-15 |
| 3139 | FL-FIRES 04/15/99 | EM | Fire | 1999-04-27 |
| 2254 | FL-FIRES 04/13/99 | FM | Fire | 1999-04-15 |
| 3131 | HURRICANE GRORGES | EM | Hurricane | 1998-09-25 |
| 1223 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | DR | Fire | 1998-06-18 |
| 1069 | HURRICANE OPAL | DR | Hurricane | 1995-10-04 |
| 851 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 1990-01-15 |
| 732 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 1985-03-18 |
| 526 | SEVERE WINTER WEATHER | DR | Freezing | 1977-01-31 |
| 337 | TROPICAL STORM AGNES | DR | Coastal Storm | 1972-06-23 |
| 304 | FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 1971-03-15 |
| 252 | HURRICANE GLADYS | DR | Hurricane | 1968-11-07 |
| 209 | HURRICANE BETSY | DR | Hurricane | 1965-09-14 |
Storm Events in Florida
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Lee County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5,243 | 17 | 45 | $24.8M |
| Hail | 1,012 | 0 | 0 | $564.6K |
| Heavy Rain | 865 | 2 | 3 | $200.0K |
| Flood | 826 | 9 | 0 | $2.0B |
| Tropical Storm | 767 | 92 | 6 | $4.9B |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
48,493
Total Paid
$4.0B
Avg Per Claim
$81.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 99.0/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$433.3M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hurricane Very High
Lightning Very High
Coastal Flooding Very High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Hail Very Low
Winter Weather No Rating
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: Hurricane
Hurricane exposure in the model bundles the three ways a tropical system does harm, which arrive on different timescales and are insured differently: wind, storm surge on the coast, and rainfall flooding that can reach far inland well after landfall.
For Lee County the two measures on this page point the same way: Hurricane is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Very High), and Hurricane 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
Lee County's closest FEMA peer: Pottawatomie County, OK
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Lee County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Lee County shows 45 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Lee County: 26 of 45 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Lee County: NRI composite 99.0 (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 Lee County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Lee 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: 99.0 (Relatively High).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 45. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Lee County's NFIP claims file (48,493 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 Lee County?
The most common disaster type in Lee County is Hurricane, with 21 declarations. Other disaster types include Fire (6), Tropical Storm (5), Freezing (5).
How does Lee County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Florida average?
FEMA lists 45 declaration records for Lee County. That is 11% above the Florida county mean of 40.4. Its count is also 117% 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 Lee County received?
Lee County has received 26 major disaster declarations, representing 58% of all 45 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Lee County filed?
Lee County has 48,493 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $4.0B in payments, with an average of $81.6K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Lee County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Lee County was 2004, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2025.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Lee County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Lee County, Florida has an overall risk score of 99.0 out of 100 (Relatively High). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively High and community resilience is Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $433.3M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Lee County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Lee County is Hurricane (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Lightning (Very High) and Coastal Flooding (Very High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hurricane here at roughly once every 4 years, drawn from 106 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 Lee County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Florida profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events