FEMA Records
21
Above median
Pennsylvania · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Lycoming County, PA
21 FEMA disaster declarations (1972-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 21
- FEMA declarations
- 15
- Major disasters
- 80
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Lycoming County. Its 21 FEMA declarations are 13% above the Pennsylvania county mean and exceed the count for 52% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 20%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 20%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 21
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 3,873
- 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 42081 · Lycoming County 21 declarations · rank 1505/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 21
- MAJOR-MID 71%
- RANK-LOWER #1,505
- PHOTO-FINISH Montgomery
- NRI-LOW 80
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Flood
- VS-ST-ABOVE +13%
Nearest declaration peer: Montgomery, IN (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Pennsylvania state profile
Lycoming County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Lycoming County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Atascosa · near 21
Atascosa · near
21 declarations
- Lycoming · this county 21
Lycoming · this county
21 declarations
- Mason · near 21
Mason · near
21 declarations
- Montgomery · near 21
Montgomery · near
21 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Lycoming County carries 21 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1505 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Lycoming County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Lycoming County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Lycoming County
21 Top 48% higher than 52% 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
Lycoming County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does Lycoming County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 3,873 claims and $58.5M 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 $15.1K. 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. Lycoming County's 21 federal records stand 13% above the Pennsylvania county mean of 18.6. 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 79.6/100 (Relatively Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Low (roughly $40.9M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Moderate and community resilience Very High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Riverine Flooding carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 1.9 times per year here, based on 53 historical events on record.
65 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Lycoming County, PA · 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
15/30
21 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.0x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
14/25
21 declarations (1.1x state county average of 19)
Major Disaster Share High
18/25
15 of 21 declarations are major disasters (71%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Lycoming County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Lycoming 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
71%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
80
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Lycoming 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.9 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 14 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 2.4 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | an average of 1.5 times per year |
| Avalanche | Relatively Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 25 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 33 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 1.5 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,550 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 2.8 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 8,535 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 20 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 7
Severe Storm 5
Hurricane 3
Biological 2
Snowstorm 2
Tropical Storm 1
Tornado 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Lycoming County's record, 33% of its declarations. Federal flood declarations cover two mechanisms that behave very differently: riverine flooding, which builds over days as a watershed drains and is usually forecast well in advance, and flash flooding, which can arrive in under an hour from rainfall that fell somewhere upstream.
Flood is also the one hazard class where a second federal dataset exists for the same events. The National Flood Insurance Program records what was actually paid on insured losses, so it measures a narrower thing than the declaration count: uninsured damage, and flooding outside mapped special flood hazard areas, never enters it. Reading the two together is more informative than either alone.
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 - 15 71.4%
of all 21 declarations
Emergency - 6 28.6%
of all 21 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 3 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 2 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 2 | |
| 1994 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1985 | 1 | |
| 1975 | 1 | |
Show 1 earlier declaration years
| 1972 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 21 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 21 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4815 | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-11 |
| 4506 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-30 |
| 3441 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4408 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2018-11-27 |
| 4292 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-12-02 |
| 3356 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-29 |
| 4030 | TROPICAL STORM LEE | DR | Flood | 2011-09-12 |
| 3340 | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM LEE | EM | Flood | 2011-09-08 |
| 4003 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-07-13 |
| 3235 | HURRICANE KATRINA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-10 |
| 1557 | TROPICAL DEPRESSION IVAN | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-19 |
| 1555 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL DEPRESSION FRANCES | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-09-19 |
| 3180 | SNOW | EM | Severe Storm | 2003-03-14 |
| 1298 | TROPICAL DEPRESSION DENNIS PA | DR | Flood | 1999-09-22 |
| 1093 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1996-01-21 |
| 1085 | BLIZZARD OF 96 | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-13 |
| 1015 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 1994-03-10 |
| 3105 | SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-16 |
| 737 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH WINDS & TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1985-06-03 |
| 485 | SEVERE STORMS, HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1975-09-26 |
Show 1 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 340 | TROPICAL STORM AGNES | DR | Flood | 1972-06-23 |
Storm Events in Pennsylvania
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Lycoming County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 9,976 | 18 | 114 | $115.5M |
| Flash Flood | 2,288 | 23 | 8 | $463.2M |
| Winter Weather | 1,670 | 23 | 268 | $566.0K |
| Hail | 1,400 | 0 | 0 | $2.6M |
| Winter Storm | 881 | 14 | 17 | $2.9M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
3,873
Total Paid
$58.5M
Avg Per Claim
$15.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 79.6/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$40.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Low
Avalanche Relatively Low
Hurricane Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Hail 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: Riverine Flooding
Riverine Flooding is the model's measure of a watershed draining more water than its channel can carry. Unlike flash flooding it usually builds over days and is forecast in advance, which makes it the hazard where warning time most reliably converts into reduced harm.
For Lycoming County the two measures on this page point the same way: Riverine Flooding is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively Moderate), and Flood 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
Lycoming County's closest FEMA peer: Miller County, AR
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Lycoming County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Lycoming County shows 21 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
Similar Major-disaster share
Lycoming County: 15 of 21 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Lycoming County: NRI composite 79.6 (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 Lycoming County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Lycoming 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: 79.6 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 21. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Lycoming County's NFIP claims file (3,873 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 Lycoming County?
The most common disaster type in Lycoming County is Flood, with 7 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (5), Hurricane (3), Biological (2).
How does Lycoming County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Pennsylvania average?
FEMA lists 21 declaration records for Lycoming County. That is 13% above the Pennsylvania county mean of 18.6. Its count is also 1% 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 Lycoming County received?
Lycoming County has received 15 major disaster declarations, representing 71% of all 21 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Lycoming County filed?
Lycoming County has 3,873 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $58.5M in payments, with an average of $15.1K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Lycoming County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Lycoming County was 2011, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1972 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Lycoming County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania has an overall risk score of 79.6 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively Moderate; on community resilience, Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $40.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Lycoming County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Lycoming County is Riverine Flooding (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Winter Weather (Relatively High) and Strong Wind (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts riverine flooding here at an average of 1.9 times per year, drawn from 53 historical events on record. These scores are based on FEMA's analysis of historical event frequency, 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 Lycoming County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Pennsylvania profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events