FEMA Records
15
Below median
Kansas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Montgomery County, KS
15 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 15
- FEMA declarations
- 11
- Major disasters
- 73
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Montgomery County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 15 declarations, more than 23% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 17% below the Kansas county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 27%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 27%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 15
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 311
- 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 Montgomery County compare?
Montgomery County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
15 23rd percentile higher than 23% 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
Montgomery County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Kansas county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Montgomery County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $11.4M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Tornado carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate). 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 Montgomery County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 311 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 $18.5K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
Start with the state benchmark: a Kansas county averages 18.0 federal declaration records, while Montgomery County has 15. The gap is 17% 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 carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 73.4/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $27.3M in annualized losses), and a Relatively High social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively Moderate community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Tornado carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 2 years here, based on 24 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
Nationally, Montgomery County's 15 FEMA records form a high-volume history; within Kansas, however, the count is 17% below the county mean. 11 entries carry the Major Disaster classification. The largest incident group is Severe Storm, appearing 8 times. The full 47-year record averages 0.3 declarations annually. A DR label alone does not say whether Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both followed.
52 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Montgomery County, KS · 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
11/30
15 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.7x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
10/25
15 declarations (0.8x state county average of 18)
Major Disaster Share High
18/25
11 of 15 declarations are major disasters (73%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Montgomery County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Kansas Avg
-17%
State avg: 18.0
vs. National Avg
-28%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.3
Over 47 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Montgomery 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
73
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Montgomery 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 Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 8.4 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 5.8 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 17 modeled event-days per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 54 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 7.1 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 44 modeled event-days per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 2.1 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 483 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 8 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 880 years |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 8
Flood 3
Biological 2
Hurricane 1
Severe Ice Storm 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Montgomery County's record, 53% 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 - 11 73.3%
of all 15 declarations
Emergency - 4 26.7%
of all 15 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 15 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 15 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4504 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-29 |
| 3481 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4449 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING,LANDSLIDES,AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-06-20 |
| 3412 | TORNADOES AND FLOODING | EM | Severe Storm | 2019-05-28 |
| 4150 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-10-22 |
| 1885 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-03-09 |
| 1849 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-06-25 |
| 1776 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-07-09 |
| 3282 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | EM | Severe Storm | 2007-12-12 |
| 1711 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-07-02 |
| 3236 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-10 |
| 1402 | SEVERE WINTER ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2002-02-06 |
| 780 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1986-10-22 |
| 514 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH WINDS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1976-07-13 |
| 378 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-05-02 |
Storm Events in Kansas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Montgomery County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 8,265 | 0 | 9 | $24.2M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,987 | 3 | 34 | $30.6M |
| High Wind | 1,553 | 1 | 7 | $10.2M |
| Drought | 1,272 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Flash Flood | 1,037 | 6 | 9 | $35.9M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
311
Total Paid
$5.7M
Avg Per Claim
$18.5K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 73.4/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$27.3M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Wildfire Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Hurricane 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 Montgomery County the two measures on this page point the same way: Tornado is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively Moderate), 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
Montgomery County's closest FEMA peer: Bradley County, TN
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Montgomery County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Montgomery County: NRI composite 73.4 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Montgomery County: 11 of 15 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Montgomery County shows 15 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
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 Montgomery County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Montgomery County's NFIP claims file (311 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 Montgomery County?
The most common disaster type in Montgomery County is Severe Storm, with 8 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (3), Biological (2), Hurricane (1).
How does Montgomery County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Kansas average?
The typical Kansas county has 18.0 FEMA declaration records; Montgomery County has 15, or 17% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 28% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Montgomery County received?
Montgomery County has received 11 major disaster declarations, representing 73% of all 15 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Montgomery County filed?
Montgomery County has 311 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $5.7M in payments, with an average of $18.5K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Montgomery County?
No. In Montgomery County, Tornado has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $11.4M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Montgomery County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Montgomery County was 2008, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Montgomery County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Montgomery County, Kansas has an overall risk score of 73.4 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively High, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $27.3M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Montgomery County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Montgomery County as of the latest release is Tornado (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Cold Wave (Relatively Moderate) and Winter Weather (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts tornado here at roughly once every 2 years, drawn from 24 historical events on record. The underlying methodology weighs historical event frequency against 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 Montgomery County
Against a Kansas county mean of 18 declarations, Montgomery County, KS records 15, or 17% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as high activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (11 of 15) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Kansas overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 23% of recorded county totals, but its own Kansas benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. 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
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.