FEMA Records
39
Very high volume
Kentucky · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Leslie County, KY
39 FEMA disaster declarations (1967-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 39
- FEMA declarations
- 31
- Major disasters
- 32
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Leslie County. Its 39 FEMA declarations are 39% above the Kentucky county mean and exceed the count for 96% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it safer than 32%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Safer than 32%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 39
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 54
- 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 Leslie County compare?
Leslie County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
39 Top 4% higher than 96% 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
Leslie County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Kentucky county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Leslie County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $5.9M 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 Leslie County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 54 paid claims, totaling $362.5K. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $6.7K 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. Leslie County's 39 federal records stand 39% 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.
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 31.7/100 for this county (Very Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Very Low (roughly $7.3M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Relatively High) and community resilience (Very Low) both factor into how that raw exposure plays out on the ground. 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 1.4 times per year here.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 39 entries for Leslie County, including 31 Major Disaster records, 39% above the Kentucky county mean. Across the 59-year span, that works out to 0.7 declarations a year. Severe Storm leads the file with 18 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
85 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Leslie 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
28/30
39 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.9x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
17/25
39 declarations (1.4x state county average of 28)
Major Disaster Share Very High
20/25
31 of 39 declarations are major disasters (79%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Leslie County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Kentucky Avg
+39%
State avg: 28.1
vs. National Avg
+88%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.7
Over 59 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Leslie 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
79%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
32
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Leslie 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 1.4 times per year |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 124 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.6 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 15 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 539 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 5.4 times per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 58 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 3.4 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 2.6 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 10 years |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 52 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Drought | No Rating | 8.5 modeled event-days per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 18
Flood 12
Biological 2
Fire 2
Snowstorm 2
Winter Storm 1
Severe Ice Storm 1
Hurricane 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Leslie County's record, 46% 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 - 31 79.5%
of all 39 declarations
Emergency - 6 15.4%
of all 39 declarations
Fire Management - 2 5.1%
of all 39 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 4 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
Show 13 earlier declaration years
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 2 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 2 | |
| 1967 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 39 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 39 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 |
| 4804 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-07-23 |
| 4711 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2023-05-09 |
| 4663 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2022-07-29 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 1912 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-05-11 |
| 1841 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODING AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-05-29 |
| 1703 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES, AND ROCKSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-05-25 |
Show 19 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 2385 | KY - SOUTHEASTERN FIRE COMPLEX - 11/02/01 | FM | Fire | 2001-11-02 |
| 2349 | KY - SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT FIRE COMPLEX - 11/03/00 | FM | Fire | 2000-11-04 |
| 1216 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES,AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-04-29 |
| 1163 | SEVERE STORM, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-03-04 |
| 1089 | BLIZZARD OF 96 | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-13 |
| 3104 | SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-16 |
| 846 | SEVERE STORMS, MUDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1989-10-30 |
| 834 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1989-06-30 |
| 821 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1989-02-24 |
| 705 | HIGH WINDS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1984-05-15 |
| 529 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1977-04-06 |
| 288 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1970-06-05 |
| 282 | HEAVY SNOWMELT, RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1970-02-02 |
| 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 Leslie 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
54
Total Paid
$362.5K
Avg Per Claim
$6.7K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 31.7/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$7.3M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Avalanche Very Low
Wildfire Very Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Hail Very Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Lightning Very Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Drought 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: 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 Leslie 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
Leslie County's closest FEMA peer: Utuado Municipio, PR
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Leslie County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Leslie County shows 39 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Leslie County: 31 of 39 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Leslie County: NRI composite 31.7 (Very 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 Leslie County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Leslie County's NFIP claims file (54 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 Leslie County?
The most common disaster type in Leslie County is Severe Storm, with 18 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (12), Biological (2), Fire (2).
How does Leslie County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Kentucky average?
FEMA lists 39 declaration records for Leslie County. That is 39% above the Kentucky county mean of 28.1. Its count is also 88% 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 Leslie County received?
Leslie County has received 31 major disaster declarations, representing 79% of all 39 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Leslie County filed?
Leslie County has 54 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $362.5K in payments, with an average of $6.7K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Leslie County?
No. In Leslie County, Landslide has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $5.9M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Leslie County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Leslie County was 2025, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1967 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Leslie County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Leslie County, Kentucky has an overall risk score of 31.7 out of 100 (Very Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively High; on community resilience, Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $7.3M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Leslie County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Leslie County is Landslide (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Avalanche (Very Low) and Wildfire (Very Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts landslide here at an average of 1.4 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.
What this means for Leslie County
Leslie County, KY has 39 federal declaration records, 39% more than the Kentucky county mean of 28; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 31 of 39 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. Kentucky overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the Kentucky mean and the totals for 96% 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.