FEMA Records
18
Below median
North Carolina · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Mecklenburg County, NC
18 FEMA disaster declarations (1977-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 18
- FEMA declarations
- 7
- Major disasters
- 97
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Mecklenburg County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 18 declarations, more than 37% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 25% below the North Carolina county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 3%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 3%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 18
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 2,883
- 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 37119 · Mecklenburg County 18 declarations · rank 1918/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-LIGHT · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-HIGH · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-MID 18
- MAJOR-LIGHT 39%
- RANK-LOWER #1,918
- PHOTO-FINISH Monroe
- NRI-HIGH 97
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-BELOW -25%
Nearest declaration peer: Monroe, TN (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · North Carolina state profile
Mecklenburg County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Mecklenburg County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Brooke · near 18
Brooke · near
18 declarations
- Lyon · near 18
Lyon · near
18 declarations
- Mecklenburg · this county 18
Mecklenburg · this county
18 declarations
- Monroe · near 18
Monroe · near
18 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Mecklenburg County carries 18 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1918 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Mecklenburg County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Mecklenburg County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Mecklenburg County
18 37th percentile higher than 37% 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
Mecklenburg County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does Mecklenburg County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 2,883 claims and $61.6M 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 $21.4K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
Start with the state benchmark: a North Carolina county averages 24.0 federal declaration records, while Mecklenburg County has 18. The gap is 25% 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.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 97.1/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $318.0M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Very Low and community resilience Relatively Moderate, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Riverine Flooding stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 3.5 times per year here, based on 98 historical events on record.
52 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Mecklenburg County, NC · 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
13/30
18 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.9x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
9/25
18 declarations (0.7x state county average of 24)
Major Disaster Share Moderate
10/25
7 of 18 declarations are major disasters (39%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Mecklenburg County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Mecklenburg 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
39%
Mixed major share
NRI risk score
97
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Mecklenburg 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 High | an average of 3.5 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively High | roughly once every 4 years |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 52 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | an average of 2.1 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively High | an average of 4.8 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 3 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 501 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 2.7 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 5.3 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 12 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 3 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 38,517 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 24 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
Hurricane 7
Tropical Storm 3
Biological 2
Snowstorm 2
Winter Storm 1
Severe Ice Storm 1
Severe Storm 1
Drought 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Mecklenburg County's federal record, 39% of its declarations. Atlantic tropical systems run on a defined season, 1 June to 30 November, with most activity concentrated between August and October; Pacific and territorial basins run on their own calendars. A single named storm routinely produces one declaration number covering a long corridor of counties at once, well inland as well as on the coast, which is why an affected county's count can jump by several in one year without several separate events having occurred.
One practical distinction matters when reading these records: a tropical declaration usually bundles wind, storm surge and inland rainfall flooding under a single incident, but the insurance behind them is split. Wind damage falls to property insurers, while flood and surge damage is covered only under a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy. That is why a county can show heavy declaration activity and a comparatively small NFIP claims record, or the reverse.
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).
Emergency - 11 61.1%
of all 18 declarations
Major Disaster - 7 38.9%
of all 18 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 3 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 2 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 18 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 18 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3637 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 4827 | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-28 |
| 3617 | HURRICANE HELENE | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-26 |
| 3608 | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-06 |
| 3586 | HURRICANE IAN | EM | Hurricane | 2022-10-01 |
| 3534 | HURRICANE ISAIAS | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-02 |
| 4487 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3471 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3423 | HURRICANE DORIAN | EM | Hurricane | 2019-09-03 |
| 3401 | HURRICANE FLORENCE | EM | Hurricane | 2018-09-10 |
| 3222 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1546 | TROPICAL STORM FRANCES | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-10 |
| 1448 | SEVERE ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2002-12-12 |
| 1312 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-01-31 |
| 1087 | BLIZZARD OF 96 | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-13 |
| 844 | HURRICANE HUGO | DR | Hurricane | 1989-09-25 |
| 3049 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-08-11 |
| 3033 | DROUGHT & FREEZING | EM | Snowstorm | 1977-03-02 |
Storm Events in North Carolina
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Mecklenburg County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,123 | 11 | 60 | $62.9M |
| Flash Flood | 1,881 | 105 | 6 | $2.3B |
| Hail | 1,623 | 0 | 0 | $122.5M |
| Winter Weather | 1,272 | 6 | 2 | $425.0K |
| Winter Storm | 743 | 7 | 0 | $10.7M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
2,883
Total Paid
$61.6M
Avg Per Claim
$21.4K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 97.1/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$318.0M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Tornado Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Ice Storm Relatively High
Hail Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively High
Winter Weather Relatively High
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Drought 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: 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.
Worth noting for Mecklenburg County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Riverine Flooding carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Hurricane. 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
Mecklenburg County's closest FEMA peer: Beaufort County, SC
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Mecklenburg County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Mecklenburg County: NRI composite 97.1 (Relatively High).
Similar Major-disaster share
Mecklenburg County: 7 of 18 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Mecklenburg County shows 18 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
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 Mecklenburg County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Mecklenburg 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: 97.1 (Relatively High).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 18. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Mecklenburg County's NFIP claims file (2,883 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 Mecklenburg County?
The most common disaster type in Mecklenburg County is Hurricane, with 7 declarations. Other disaster types include Tropical Storm (3), Biological (2), Snowstorm (2).
How does Mecklenburg County's FEMA declaration record compare with the North Carolina average?
The typical North Carolina county has 24.0 FEMA declaration records; Mecklenburg County has 18, or 25% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 13% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Mecklenburg County received?
Mecklenburg County has received 7 major disaster declarations, representing 39% of all 18 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Mecklenburg County filed?
Mecklenburg County has 2,883 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $61.6M in payments, with an average of $21.4K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Mecklenburg County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Mecklenburg County was 2020, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1977 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Mecklenburg County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina has an overall risk score of 97.1 out of 100 (Relatively High). The county's social vulnerability rating is Very Low and community resilience is Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $318.0M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Mecklenburg County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Mecklenburg County is Riverine Flooding (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Tornado (Relatively High) and Lightning (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts riverine flooding here at an average of 3.5 times per year, drawn from 98 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Mecklenburg County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · North Carolina profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events