FEMA Records
28
High volume
New York · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Lewis County, NY
28 FEMA disaster declarations (1977-2025), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Snowstorm.
- 28
- FEMA declarations
- 17
- Major disasters
- 25
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Snowstorm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Lewis County. Its 28 FEMA declarations are 14% above the New York county mean and exceed the count for 81% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it safer than 25%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Safer than 25%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 28
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 38
- 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 36049 · Lewis County 28 declarations · rank 524/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 28
- MAJOR-MID 61%
- RANK-MID #524
- PHOTO-FINISH Loíza
- NRI-LOW Very Low
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Snowstorm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +14%
Nearest declaration peer: Loíza, PR (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · New York state profile
Lewis County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Lewis County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Hertford · near 28
Hertford · near
28 declarations
- Lewis · this county 28
Lewis · this county
28 declarations
- Loíza · near 28
Loíza · near
28 declarations
- Maunabo · near 28
Maunabo · near
28 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Lewis County carries 28 FEMA declaration records, ranked 524 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Lewis County ranks in the national declaration registry
Lewis County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Lewis County
28 Top 19% higher than 81% 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
Lewis County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Lewis County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $7.3M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Ice Storm 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 Lewis County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county's FEMA National Risk Index composite lands at 24.7/100 (Very Low), a modest reading against the rest of the country. Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $9.1M in annualized losses), tempered or compounded by a Relatively Low social-vulnerability score and Very High community-resilience score. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Ice Storm carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 1 years here, based on 50 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 38 claims and $455.6K 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. Lewis County's 28 federal records stand 14% above the New York county mean of 24.5. 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.
69 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Lewis County, NY · 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) High
20/30
28 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
14/25
28 declarations (1.1x state county average of 25)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
17 of 28 declarations are major disasters (61%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Lewis County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Lewis 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
61%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
25
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Lewis 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 42 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1 time per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 171 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 591 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 5.2 times per year |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 26 times per year |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 1.2 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 90,324 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 1 time per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Snowstorm 9
Severe Storm 6
Flood 4
Hurricane 3
Biological 2
Other 2
Winter Storm 1
Fire 1
What Snowstorm declarations mean here
Snowstorm is the most frequent declaration type on Lewis County's record, 32% 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 - 17 60.7%
of all 28 declarations
Emergency - 11 39.3%
of all 28 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 2 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 2 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
Show 8 earlier declaration years
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1985 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 2 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 28 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 28 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4839 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-10-21 |
| 4814 | SEVERE STORM, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2024-08-29 |
| 3589 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2022-11-20 |
| 4625 | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM FRED | DR | Hurricane | 2021-10-08 |
| 4480 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-20 |
| 3434 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4472 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-12-19 |
| 4204 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR | Snowstorm | 2014-12-22 |
| 4180 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2014-07-08 |
| 3351 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-28 |
| 1993 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Flood | 2011-06-10 |
| 3273 | RECORD SNOW AND NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2007-02-23 |
| 3262 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-30 |
| 1534 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-08-03 |
| 3195 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2004-03-03 |
| 3186 | POWER OUTAGE | EM | Other | 2003-08-23 |
| 1391 | FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS | DR | Fire | 2001-09-11 |
| 3155 | WEST NILE VIRUS | EM | Other | 2000-10-11 |
| 1335 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-07-21 |
| 3136 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 1999-01-15 |
Show 8 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1196 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Snowstorm | 1998-01-06 |
| 1148 | SEVERE STORMS HIGH WINDS, RAIN AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1996-12-09 |
| 1095 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1996-01-24 |
| 3107 | SEVERE BLIZZARD | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-17 |
| 898 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Snowstorm | 1991-03-21 |
| 733 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1985-03-20 |
| 527 | SNOWSTORMS | DR | Snowstorm | 1977-02-05 |
| 3027 | SNOWSTORMS | EM | Snowstorm | 1977-01-29 |
Storm Events in New York
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Lewis County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 8,295 | 6 | 45 | $45.0M |
| Winter Weather | 2,261 | 7 | 17 | $705.5K |
| Flash Flood | 1,775 | 23 | 3 | $674.3M |
| Strong Wind | 1,399 | 2 | 12 | $9.2M |
| Winter Storm | 1,228 | 13 | 2 | $4.9M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
38
Total Paid
$455.6K
Avg Per Claim
$12.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 24.7/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$9.1M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Landslide Very Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Lightning Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Wildfire Very Low
Hail 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: Ice Storm
Ice storms load power lines and tree limbs with accumulating freezing rain until they fail. The characteristic cost is infrastructure and multi-day power loss across a wide area rather than structural damage to buildings, which is why their consequences often outlast the weather that caused them.
For Lewis County the two measures on this page point the same way: Ice Storm is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively Moderate), 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
Lewis County's closest FEMA peer: Sussex County, NJ
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Lewis County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Lewis County shows 28 FEMA declarations, led by Snowstorm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Lewis County: 17 of 28 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Lewis County: NRI composite 24.7 (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 Lewis County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Lewis 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: 24.7 (Very Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 28. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 28 FEMA declarations, Lewis 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 Lewis County?
The most common disaster type in Lewis County is Snowstorm, with 9 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (6), Flood (4), Hurricane (3).
How does Lewis County's FEMA declaration record compare with the New York average?
FEMA lists 28 declaration records for Lewis County. That is 14% above the New York county mean of 24.5. Its count is also 35% 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 Lewis County received?
Lewis County has received 17 major disaster declarations, representing 61% of all 28 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Lewis County filed?
Lewis County has 38 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $455.6K in payments, with an average of $12.0K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Lewis County?
No. In Lewis County, Ice Storm has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $7.3M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Lewis County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Lewis County was 2020, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1977 to 2025.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Lewis County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Lewis County, New York has an overall risk score of 24.7 out of 100 (Very Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Low and community resilience is Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $9.1M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Lewis County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Lewis County is Ice Storm (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Winter Weather (Relatively Moderate) and Landslide (Very Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts ice storm here at roughly once every 1 years, drawn from 50 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 Lewis County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · New York profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events