FEMA Records
47
Very high volume
Florida · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Monroe County, FL
47 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2025), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 47
- FEMA declarations
- 27
- Major disasters
- 92
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Monroe County. Its 47 FEMA declarations are 16% above the Florida county mean and exceed the count for 99% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 8%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 8%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 47
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 27,430
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Fire Management Assistance (FM) records, which are not presidential disaster declarations, alongside Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 12087 · Monroe County 47 declarations · rank 36/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-MID · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 47
- MAJOR-MID 57%
- RANK-UPPER #36
- PHOTO-FINISH East Baton R…
- NRI-MID 92
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +16%
Nearest declaration peer: East Baton Rouge, LA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Florida state profile
Monroe County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Monroe County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- East Baton Rouge · near
East Baton Rouge · near
47 declarations
- Logan · near
Logan · near
47 declarations
- Monroe · this county
Monroe · this county
47 declarations
- Pointe Coupee · near
Pointe Coupee · near
47 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Monroe County carries 47 FEMA declaration records, ranked 36 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Monroe County ranks in the national declaration registry
Monroe County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Monroe County
47 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
Monroe County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Monroe County is led by Hurricane (about $65.1M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very High), while Coastal Flooding 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 Monroe County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 27,430 claims and $714.1M 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 $26.0K. 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. Monroe County's 47 federal records stand 16% above the Florida county mean of 40.4. 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 91.6/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $93.3M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Moderate and community resilience Relatively Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Coastal Flooding stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 2.3 times per year here.
79 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Monroe County, FL · 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
30/30
47 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.3x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
15/25
47 declarations (1.2x state county average of 40)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
27 of 47 declarations are major disasters (57%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
9 different disaster types declared in Monroe County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Monroe 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
92
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Monroe 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flooding | Very High | an average of 2.3 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively High | roughly once every 3 years |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 101 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 4.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 315 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 11 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 5,780 years |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | an average of 1 time per year |
| Drought | No Rating | 5.7 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 26
Severe Storm 6
Fire 4
Tropical Storm 3
Freezing 3
Biological 2
Tornado 1
Human Cause 1
Coastal Storm 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Monroe County's federal record, 55% 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).
Major Disaster - 27 57.4%
of all 47 declarations
Emergency - 18 38.3%
of all 47 declarations
Fire Management - 2 4.3%
of all 47 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 4 | |
| 2022 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 3 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 3 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 4 | |
| 2004 | 3 | |
| 2001 | 3 | |
| 2000 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 3 | |
Show 8 earlier declaration years
| 1998 | 4 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 47 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 47 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4834 | HURRICANE MILTON | DR | Hurricane | 2024-10-11 |
| 3622 | HURRICANE MILTON | EM | Hurricane | 2024-10-07 |
| 4828 | HURRICANE HELENE | DR | Hurricane | 2024-09-28 |
| 3615 | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-24 |
| 4806 | HURRICANE DEBBY | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-10 |
| 3605 | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-03 |
| 4673 | HURRICANE IAN | DR | Hurricane | 2022-09-29 |
| 3584 | TROPICAL STORM IAN | EM | Hurricane | 2022-09-24 |
| 3561 | TROPICAL STORM ELSA | EM | Severe Storm | 2021-07-04 |
| 3533 | HURRICANE ISAIAS | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-01 |
| 4486 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3432 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3419 | HURRICANE DORIAN | EM | Hurricane | 2019-08-30 |
| 4337 | HURRICANE IRMA | DR | Hurricane | 2017-09-10 |
| 3385 | HURRICANE IRMA | EM | Hurricane | 2017-09-05 |
| 3377 | HURRICANE MATTHEW | EM | Hurricane | 2016-10-06 |
| 4084 | HURRICANE ISAAC | DR | Hurricane | 2012-10-18 |
| 3293 | HURRICANE IKE | EM | Hurricane | 2008-09-07 |
| 1785 | TROPICAL STORM FAY | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-08-24 |
| 3288 | TROPICAL STORM FAY | EM | Severe Storm | 2008-08-21 |
Show 27 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1609 | HURRICANE WILMA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-10-24 |
| 3259 | TROPICAL STORM RITA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-20 |
| 3220 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1602 | HURRICANE KATRINA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-08-28 |
| 1595 | HURRICANE DENNIS | DR | Hurricane | 2005-07-10 |
| 1551 | HURRICANE IVAN | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-16 |
| 1545 | HURRICANE FRANCES | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-04 |
| 1539 | TROPICAL STORM BONNIE AND HURRICANE CHARLEY | DR | Hurricane | 2004-08-13 |
| 2359 | FL - EVERGLADES FIRE COMPLEX - 04/25/01 | FM | Fire | 2001-04-25 |
| 1359 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 2001-02-05 |
| 1345 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-10-04 |
| 1306 | FL-HURRICANE IRENE-DR-REQ | DR | Hurricane | 1999-10-20 |
| 3150 | TROPICAL STORM IRENE - FLORIDA | EM | Hurricane | 1999-10-15 |
| 3139 | FL-FIRES 04/15/99 | EM | Fire | 1999-04-27 |
| 2256 | FL-FIRES 04/13/99 | FM | Fire | 1999-04-18 |
| 1259 | TROPICAL STORM MITCH | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-11-06 |
| 1249 | HURRICANE GEORGES | DR | Hurricane | 1998-09-28 |
| 3131 | HURRICANE GRORGES | EM | Hurricane | 1998-09-25 |
| 1223 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | DR | Fire | 1998-06-18 |
| 1204 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-02-12 |
| 982 | TORNADOES, FLOODING, HIGH WINDS & TIDES, FREEZING | DR | Tornado | 1993-03-13 |
| 955 | HURRICANE ANDREW | DR | Hurricane | 1992-08-24 |
| 851 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 1990-01-15 |
| 3079 | UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS | EM | Human Cause | 1980-05-06 |
| 526 | SEVERE WINTER WEATHER | DR | Freezing | 1977-01-31 |
| 337 | TROPICAL STORM AGNES | DR | Coastal Storm | 1972-06-23 |
| 209 | HURRICANE BETSY | DR | Hurricane | 1965-09-14 |
Storm Events in Florida
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Monroe County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5,243 | 17 | 45 | $24.8M |
| Hail | 1,012 | 0 | 0 | $564.6K |
| Heavy Rain | 865 | 2 | 3 | $200.0K |
| Flood | 826 | 9 | 0 | $2.0B |
| Tropical Storm | 767 | 92 | 6 | $4.9B |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
27,430
Total Paid
$714.1M
Avg Per Claim
$26.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 91.6/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$93.3M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Coastal Flooding Very High
Hurricane Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Tornado Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Hail Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Drought No Rating
Winter Weather 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: Coastal Flooding
Coastal Flooding is modeled separately from riverine flooding because its driver is different: surge, tide and wave action rather than a watershed draining. It is also the hazard whose baseline is moving, since the same storm rides on a higher starting sea level than it used to.
For Monroe County the two measures on this page point the same way: Coastal Flooding is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Very High), and Hurricane 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
Monroe County's closest FEMA peer: Creek County, OK
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Monroe County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Monroe County shows 47 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Monroe County: 27 of 47 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Monroe County: NRI composite 91.6 (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 Monroe County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Monroe 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: 91.6 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 47. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Monroe County's NFIP claims file (27,430 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 Monroe County?
The most common disaster type in Monroe County is Hurricane, with 26 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (6), Fire (4), Tropical Storm (3).
How does Monroe County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Florida average?
FEMA lists 47 declaration records for Monroe County. That is 16% above the Florida county mean of 40.4. Its count is also 127% 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 Monroe County received?
Monroe County has received 27 major disaster declarations, representing 57% of all 47 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Monroe County filed?
Monroe County has 27,430 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $714.1M in payments, with an average of $26.0K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Monroe County?
No. In Monroe County, Coastal Flooding has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Hurricane leads Expected Annual Loss at about $65.1M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Monroe County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Monroe County was 1998, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2025.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Monroe County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Monroe County, Florida has an overall risk score of 91.6 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Moderate, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $93.3M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Monroe County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Monroe County as of the latest release is Coastal Flooding (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Hurricane (Relatively High) and Lightning (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts coastal flooding here at an average of 2.3 times per year. 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Monroe County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Florida profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events