FEMA Records
25
High volume
Texas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
McLennan County, TX
25 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2021), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 25
- FEMA declarations
- 13
- Major disasters
- 91
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for McLennan County. Its 25 FEMA declarations are 20% above the Texas county mean and exceed the count for 71% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 9%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 9%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 25
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 385
- 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 McLennan County compare?
McLennan County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
25 Top 29% higher than 71% 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
McLennan County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Texas county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for McLennan County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $29.3M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Tornado 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 McLennan County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 385 paid claims, totaling $5.7M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $14.8K 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. McLennan County's 25 federal records stand 20% above the Texas county mean of 20.9. 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.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 91.2/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $84.5M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively High and community resilience Relatively High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Tornado stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 1 years here, based on 46 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 25 entries for McLennan County, including 13 Major Disaster records, 20% above the Texas county mean. Across the 48-year span, that works out to 0.5 declarations a year. Severe Storm leads the file with 6 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
66 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
McLennan County, TX · 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
18/30
25 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.2x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
15/25
25 declarations (1.2x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share High
13/25
13 of 25 declarations are major disasters (52%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in McLennan County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Texas Avg
+20%
State avg: 20.9
vs. National Avg
+21%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.5
Over 48 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - McLennan 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
52%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
91
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike McLennan 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tornado | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Lightning | Very High | an average of 51 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 17 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 599 years |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 4.7 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.3 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 22 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.1 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1,585 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 3.1 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 44 modeled event-days per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 7 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 6
Hurricane 5
Fire 4
Other 3
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Flood 2
Drought 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on McLennan County's record, 24% 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 - 13 52.0%
of all 25 declarations
Emergency - 12 48.0%
of all 25 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
Show 3 earlier declaration years
| 1989 | 1 | |
| 1975 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 25 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 25 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4586 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-19 |
| 3554 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-14 |
| 4485 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3458 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4223 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-05-29 |
| 4136 | EXPLOSION | DR | Other | 2013-08-02 |
| 3363 | EXPLOSION | EM | Other | 2013-04-19 |
| 3294 | HURRICANE IKE | EM | Hurricane | 2008-09-10 |
| 3284 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2008-03-14 |
| 3277 | HURRICANE DEAN | EM | Hurricane | 2007-08-18 |
| 1709 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-06-29 |
| 1624 | EXTREME WILDFIRE THREAT | DR | Fire | 2006-01-11 |
| 1606 | HURRICANE RITA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-09-24 |
| 3261 | HURRICANE RITA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-21 |
| 3216 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-02 |
| 3171 | LOSS OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA | EM | Other | 2003-02-01 |
| 3142 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARDS | EM | Fire | 1999-09-01 |
| 1239 | TROPICAL STORM CHARLEY | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-08-26 |
| 3117 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | EM | Fire | 1996-02-23 |
| 3113 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | EM | Drought | 1993-09-10 |
Show 5 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 930 | SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS | DR | Flood | 1991-12-26 |
| 863 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1990-05-02 |
| 828 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1989-05-19 |
| 454 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-11-30 |
| 365 | HIGH WINDS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1973-03-12 |
Storm Events in Texas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to McLennan County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 14,072 | 0 | 15 | $7.4B |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 10,293 | 41 | 141 | $369.9M |
| Drought | 7,032 | 0 | 0 | $86.0K |
| Flash Flood | 4,728 | 338 | 24 | $47.6B |
| Heat | 4,079 | 119 | 405 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
385
Total Paid
$5.7M
Avg Per Claim
$14.8K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 91.2/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$84.5M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Tornado Relatively High
Lightning Very High
Cold Wave Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Landslide 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: Tornado
Tornado exposure is the most spatially concentrated in the model: total destruction along a narrow corridor with intact property either side. County-level averages therefore understate severity badly for anyone actually in the path, and overstate it for everyone else.
For McLennan County the two measures on this page point the same way: Tornado is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively High), and Severe Storm 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
McLennan County's closest FEMA peer: Talladega County, AL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for McLennan County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
McLennan County shows 25 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
McLennan County: 13 of 25 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
McLennan County: NRI composite 91.2 (Relatively Moderate).
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 McLennan County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
McLennan County's NFIP claims file (385 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 McLennan County?
The most common disaster type in McLennan County is Severe Storm, with 6 declarations. Other disaster types include Hurricane (5), Fire (4), Other (3).
How does McLennan County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Texas average?
FEMA lists 25 declaration records for McLennan County. That is 20% above the Texas county mean of 20.9. Its count is also 21% 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 McLennan County received?
McLennan County has received 13 major disaster declarations, representing 52% of all 25 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has McLennan County filed?
McLennan County has 385 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $5.7M in payments, with an average of $14.8K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in McLennan County?
No. In McLennan County, Tornado has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $29.3M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in McLennan County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in McLennan County was 2005, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2021.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for McLennan County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, McLennan County, Texas has an overall risk score of 91.2 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively High; on community resilience, Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $84.5M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to McLennan County?
FEMA's NRI data points to McLennan County as of the latest release is Tornado (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Lightning (Very High) and Cold Wave (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts tornado here at roughly once every 1 years, drawn from 46 historical events on record. 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 McLennan County
McLennan County, TX has 25 federal declaration records, 20% more than the Texas county mean of 21; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 13 of 25 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. Texas overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the Texas mean and the totals for 71% 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.