FEMA Records
11
Low volume
New Mexico · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
McKinley County, NM
11 FEMA disaster declarations (1972-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 11
- FEMA declarations
- 8
- Major disasters
- 78
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
McKinley County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 11 declarations, more than 12% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 12% below the New Mexico county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 22%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 22%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 11
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 18
- 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 McKinley County compare?
McKinley County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
11 12th percentile higher than 12% 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
McKinley County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the New Mexico county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for McKinley County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $15.4M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Lightning carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High). 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 McKinley County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 78.2/100 (Relatively Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Low (roughly $20.8M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Very High and community resilience Very Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Lightning stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 55 times per year here, based on 447,149 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
Nationally, McKinley County's 11 FEMA records form a high-volume history; within New Mexico, however, the count is 12% below the county mean. 8 entries carry the Major Disaster classification. The largest incident group is Flood, appearing 5 times. The full 48-year record averages 0.2 declarations annually. A DR label alone does not say whether Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both followed.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 18 claims and $19.1K 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.
Start with the state benchmark: a New Mexico county averages 12.5 federal declaration records, while McKinley County has 11. The gap is 12% below that mean. Fewer entries indicate a quieter history of recorded federal actions, not immunity from a hazard and not a prediction about what happens next.
50 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
McKinley County, NM · 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
8/30
11 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.5x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
11/25
11 declarations (0.9x state county average of 12)
Major Disaster Share High
18/25
8 of 11 declarations are major disasters (73%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in McKinley County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. New Mexico Avg
-12%
State avg: 12.5
vs. National Avg
-47%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.2
Over 48 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - McKinley 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
73%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
78
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike McKinley 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 55 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 15 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 19 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.6 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2,470 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 584 years |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | roughly once every 5,000 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 0.6 modeled event-days per year |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 67 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 10 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 16 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 11 years |
| Drought | No Rating | 101 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
Flood 5
Biological 2
Fire 2
Severe Storm 1
Hurricane 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on McKinley County's record, 45% 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 - 8 72.7%
of all 11 declarations
Emergency - 3 27.3%
of all 11 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 2 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 11 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 11 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4529 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-05 |
| 3460 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4152 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2013-10-29 |
| 1936 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2010-09-13 |
| 1659 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-08-30 |
| 3229 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-07 |
| 1329 | SEVERE FOREST FIRE | DR | Fire | 2000-05-13 |
| 3154 | SEVERE FIRE THREATS | EM | Fire | 2000-05-10 |
| 992 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-06-07 |
| 380 | SEVERE STORMS, SNOW MELT & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-05-11 |
| 346 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1972-08-01 |
Storm Events in New Mexico
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to McKinley County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drought | 3,382 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| High Wind | 2,351 | 0 | 3 | $18.9M |
| Hail | 1,669 | 1 | 24 | $17.2M |
| Heavy Snow | 986 | 6 | 72 | $2.5M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 952 | 1 | 13 | $25.1M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
18
Total Paid
$19.1K
Avg Per Claim
$1.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 78.2/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$20.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Lightning Relatively High
Winter Weather Relatively High
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Earthquake Relatively Low
Volcanic Activity Very Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Avalanche Very Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Hail Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Drought No Rating
Hurricane 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: Lightning
Lightning is modeled as a high-frequency, low-per-event hazard: strike counts are large, but each strike affects a very small area. Its aggregate cost accumulates through structure fires, electrical and electronic damage, and it is one of the few hazards whose risk is essentially continuous through the season rather than episodic.
Worth noting for McKinley County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Lightning carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Flood. 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
McKinley County's closest FEMA peer: Sullivan County, NY
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for McKinley County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
McKinley County: NRI composite 78.2 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
McKinley County: 8 of 11 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
McKinley County shows 11 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
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 McKinley County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 11 FEMA declarations, McKinley 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).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in McKinley County?
The most common disaster type in McKinley County is Flood, with 5 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Fire (2), Severe Storm (1).
How does McKinley County's FEMA declaration record compare with the New Mexico average?
The typical New Mexico county has 12.5 FEMA declaration records; McKinley County has 11, or 12% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 47% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has McKinley County received?
McKinley County has received 8 major disaster declarations, representing 73% of all 11 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has McKinley County filed?
McKinley County has 18 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $19.1K in payments, with an average of $1.1K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in McKinley County?
No. In McKinley County, Lightning has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $15.4M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in McKinley County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in McKinley County was 2000, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1972 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for McKinley County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, McKinley County, New Mexico has an overall risk score of 78.2 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Very High and community resilience is Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $20.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to McKinley County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for McKinley County is Lightning (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Winter Weather (Relatively High) and Cold Wave (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts lightning here at an average of 55 times per year, drawn from 447,149 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 McKinley County
Against a New Mexico county mean of 12 declarations, McKinley County, NM records 11, or 12% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as high activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (8 of 11) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. New Mexico overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 12% of recorded county totals, but its own New Mexico benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. Most-disaster rankings
- A short NFIP claims file cannot establish low flood exposure; the data guide explains the limits of each federal measure. Disaster-data guide
A below-average federal record is not a safety guarantee. Use National Weather Service alerts and local emergency-management notices for present conditions, not this historical comparison.
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.