FEMA Records
35
Very high volume
Massachusetts · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Middlesex County, MA
35 FEMA disaster declarations (1986-2023), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 35
- FEMA declarations
- 19
- Major disasters
- 97
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Middlesex County. Its 35 FEMA declarations are 22% above the Massachusetts county mean and exceed the count for 93% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 3%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 3%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 35
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 3,752
- 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 Middlesex County compare?
Middlesex County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
35 Top 7% higher than 93% 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
Middlesex County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Massachusetts county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Middlesex County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $224.4M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Ice Storm carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Very 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 Middlesex County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 3,752 claims and $36.4M 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 $9.7K. 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. Middlesex County's 35 federal records stand 22% above the Massachusetts county mean of 28.8. 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 96.9/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $321.9M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Very Low and community resilience Very High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Ice Storm stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 2.7 times per year here, based on 182 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 35 entries for Middlesex County, including 19 Major Disaster records, 22% above the Massachusetts county mean. Across the 37-year span, that works out to 0.9 declarations a year. Severe Storm leads the file with 9 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
74 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Middlesex County, MA · 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) Very High
25/30
35 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.7x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
15/25
35 declarations (1.2x state county average of 29)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
19 of 35 declarations are major disasters (54%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
9 different disaster types declared in Middlesex County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Massachusetts Avg
+22%
State avg: 28.8
vs. National Avg
+69%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.9
Over 37 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Middlesex 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
54%
Major-heavy
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 Middlesex 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ice Storm | Very High | an average of 2.7 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 4.3 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 22 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 507 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 5.7 modeled event-days per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively High | roughly once every 6 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | an average of 1.8 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 6 years |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 7.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 5,968 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 17 times per year |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 6.2 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 2.3 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 9
Snowstorm 8
Hurricane 7
Flood 5
Biological 2
Terrorist 1
Other 1
Severe Ice Storm 1
Coastal Storm 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Middlesex County's record, 26% 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 - 19 54.3%
of all 35 declarations
Emergency - 16 45.7%
of all 35 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 3 | |
| 2012 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 3 | |
| 2009 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 2 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
Show 6 earlier declaration years
| 1997 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 2 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 35 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 35 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3599 | HURRICANE LEE | EM | Hurricane | 2023-09-15 |
| 4496 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-27 |
| 3438 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4379 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2018-07-19 |
| 4214 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-04-13 |
| 4110 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-04-19 |
| 3362 | EXPLOSIONS | EM | Terrorist | 2013-04-17 |
| 3350 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-28 |
| 4051 | SEVERE STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-01-06 |
| 3343 | SEVERE STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2011-11-01 |
| 3330 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-26 |
| 1959 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2011-03-07 |
| 3315 | HURRICANE EARL | EM | Hurricane | 2010-09-02 |
| 3312 | WATER MAIN BREAK | EM | Other | 2010-05-03 |
| 1895 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-03-29 |
| 1813 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2009-01-05 |
| 3296 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2008-12-13 |
| 1642 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-05-25 |
| 1614 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-11-10 |
| 3252 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
Show 15 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3201 | RECORD AND/OR NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2005-02-17 |
| 1512 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2004-04-21 |
| 3191 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2004-01-15 |
| 3175 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-03-11 |
| 1364 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-04-10 |
| 3165 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2001-03-28 |
| 1224 | HEAVY RAINS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1998-06-23 |
| 1142 | EXTREME WEATHER CONDITONS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1996-10-25 |
| 3119 | EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS AND FLOODING | EM | Flood | 1996-10-23 |
| 1090 | BLIZZARD OF 96 | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-24 |
| 3103 | BLIZZARDS, HIGH WINDS & RECORD SNOWFALL | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-16 |
| 975 | WINTER COASTAL STORM | DR | Coastal Storm | 1992-12-21 |
| 914 | HURRICANE BOB | DR | Hurricane | 1991-08-26 |
| 790 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1987-04-18 |
| 751 | HURRICANE GLORIA | DR | Hurricane | 1985-10-28 |
Storm Events in Massachusetts
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Middlesex County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2,101 | 2 | 7 | $13.2M |
| Strong Wind | 1,019 | 4 | 8 | $3.2M |
| High Wind | 722 | 3 | 10 | $10.8M |
| Flood | 563 | 0 | 0 | $4.0M |
| Winter Weather | 390 | 1 | 14 | $1.4M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
3,752
Total Paid
$36.4M
Avg Per Claim
$9.7K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 96.9/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$321.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Ice Storm Very High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Cold Wave Relatively High
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Coastal Flooding Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Hail 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: Ice Storm
Ice storms load power lines and tree limbs with accumulating freezing rain until they fail. The characteristic cost is infrastructure and multi-day power loss across a wide area rather than structural damage to buildings, which is why their consequences often outlast the weather that caused them.
Worth noting for Middlesex County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Ice Storm carries the highest modeled rating (Very High), while the county's declaration history is led by Severe Storm. 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
Middlesex County's closest FEMA peer: Indian River County, FL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Middlesex County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Middlesex County shows 35 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Middlesex County: 19 of 35 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Middlesex County: NRI composite 96.9 (Relatively High).
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 Middlesex County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Middlesex County's NFIP claims file (3,752 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 Middlesex County?
The most common disaster type in Middlesex County is Severe Storm, with 9 declarations. Other disaster types include Snowstorm (8), Hurricane (7), Flood (5).
How does Middlesex County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Massachusetts average?
FEMA lists 35 declaration records for Middlesex County. That is 22% above the Massachusetts county mean of 28.8. Its count is also 69% 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 Middlesex County received?
Middlesex County has received 19 major disaster declarations, representing 54% of all 35 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Middlesex County filed?
Middlesex County has 3,752 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $36.4M in payments, with an average of $9.7K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Middlesex County?
No. In Middlesex County, Ice Storm has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $224.4M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Middlesex County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Middlesex County was 2010, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1986 to 2023.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Middlesex County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Middlesex County, Massachusetts has an overall risk score of 96.9 out of 100 (Relatively High). Social vulnerability here rates Very Low, while community resilience comes in at Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $321.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Middlesex County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Middlesex County as of the latest release is Ice Storm (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Riverine Flooding (Relatively High) and Lightning (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts ice storm here at an average of 2.7 times per year, drawn from 182 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 Middlesex County
Middlesex County, MA has 35 federal declaration records, 22% more than the Massachusetts county mean of 29; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 19 of 35 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. Massachusetts overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the Massachusetts mean and the totals for 93% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- The large NFIP claims file and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records; the guide explains where they overlap and where they do not. 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.