FEMA Records
14
Low volume
Illinois · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Marshall County, IL
14 FEMA disaster declarations (1974-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Snowstorm.
- 14
- FEMA declarations
- 8
- Major disasters
- 27
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Snowstorm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Marshall County. Its 14 FEMA declarations are 9% above the Illinois county mean and exceed the count for 20% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it safer than 27%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Safer than 27%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 14
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 81
- 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.
How does Marshall County compare?
Marshall County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
14 20th percentile higher than 20% 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
Marshall County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Illinois county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Marshall County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $4.0M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Drought 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 Marshall County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 81 paid claims, totaling $736.6K. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $9.1K 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. Marshall County's 14 federal records stand 9% above the Illinois county mean of 12.9. 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.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 14 entries for Marshall County, including 8 Major Disaster records, 9% above the Illinois county mean. Across the 46-year span, that works out to 0.3 declarations a year. Snowstorm leads the file with 5 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county's FEMA National Risk Index composite lands at 27.2/100 (Very Low), a modest reading against the rest of the country. Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $8.7M in annualized losses), tempered or compounded by a Relatively Moderate social-vulnerability score and Very High community-resilience score. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Drought carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at 9 modeled event-days per year here, based on 245 historical events on record.
51 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Marshall County, IL · 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) Moderate
10/30
14 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.7x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
14/25
14 declarations (1.1x state county average of 13)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
8 of 14 declarations are major disasters (57%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Marshall County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Illinois Avg
+9%
State avg: 12.9
vs. National Avg
-32%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.3
Over 46 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Marshall 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
57%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
27
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Marshall 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 9 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 5.5 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 10 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 5.4 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 653 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1 time per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 6.4 modeled event-days per year |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | an average of 11 times per year |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 45 times per year |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 19,304 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Snowstorm 5
Flood 4
Biological 2
Severe Storm 2
Hurricane 1
What Snowstorm declarations mean here
Snowstorm is the most frequent declaration type on Marshall County's record, 36% 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 - 8 57.1%
of all 14 declarations
Emergency - 6 42.9%
of all 14 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1985 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 2 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 14 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 14 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4489 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-26 |
| 3435 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4116 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2013-05-10 |
| 1960 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2011-03-17 |
| 3269 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2006-12-29 |
| 3230 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-07 |
| 3161 | ILLINOIS WINTER SNOW STORMS | EM | Snowstorm | 2001-01-17 |
| 3134 | IL-WINTER STORM 1/1/99 | EM | Snowstorm | 1999-01-08 |
| 871 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1990-06-22 |
| 735 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1985-03-29 |
| 674 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1982-12-13 |
| 583 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1979-04-30 |
| 3068 | BLIZZARDS & SNOWSTORMS | EM | Snowstorm | 1979-01-16 |
| 438 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-06-10 |
Storm Events in Illinois
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Marshall County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,218 | 9 | 67 | $46.0M |
| Hail | 3,195 | 0 | 0 | $27.1M |
| Winter Weather | 1,363 | 14 | 49 | $1.8M |
| Flood | 1,221 | 14 | 11 | $84.3M |
| Flash Flood | 1,133 | 11 | 3 | $1.1B |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
81
Total Paid
$736.6K
Avg Per Claim
$9.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 27.2/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$8.7M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Winter Weather Very Low
Lightning Very Low
Hail Very Low
Hurricane Very Low
Wildfire 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: Drought
Drought is the slowest of the modeled hazards and the least visible: it does its damage to agriculture, water supply and soil over seasons rather than hours, so it rarely produces the kind of single-day damage that drives a disaster declaration. FEMA scores it in event-days per year rather than discrete events for exactly that reason.
Worth noting for Marshall County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Drought carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), while the county's declaration history is led by Snowstorm. 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
Marshall County's closest FEMA peer: Umatilla County, OR
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Marshall County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Marshall County shows 14 FEMA declarations, led by Snowstorm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Marshall County: 8 of 14 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Marshall County: NRI composite 27.2 (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 Marshall County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Marshall County's NFIP claims file (81 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 Marshall County?
The most common disaster type in Marshall County is Snowstorm, with 5 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (4), Biological (2), Severe Storm (2).
How does Marshall County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Illinois average?
FEMA lists 14 declaration records for Marshall County. That is 9% above the Illinois county mean of 12.9. Its count is also 32% below 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 Marshall County received?
Marshall County has received 8 major disaster declarations, representing 57% of all 14 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Marshall County filed?
Marshall County has 81 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $736.6K in payments, with an average of $9.1K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Marshall County?
No. In Marshall County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $4.0M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Marshall County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Marshall County was 1979, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1974 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Marshall County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Marshall County, Illinois has an overall risk score of 27.2 out of 100 (Very Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively Moderate; on community resilience, Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $8.7M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Marshall County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Marshall County is Drought (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Strong Wind (Relatively Moderate) and Landslide (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 9 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 245 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.
What this means for Marshall County
Marshall County, IL has 14 federal declaration records, 9% more than the Illinois county mean of 13; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 8 of 14 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. Illinois overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the Illinois mean and the totals for 20% 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.