FEMA Records
9
Low volume
Colorado · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Montrose County, CO
9 FEMA disaster declarations (1970-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 9
- FEMA declarations
- 5
- Major disasters
- 49
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Start with the local benchmark for Montrose County: 9 FEMA declaration records are 12% below the Colorado county mean, even though the count is higher than 8% of counties in the national registry. On FEMA's distinct National Risk Index model, which combines expected loss with vulnerability and resilience, the county ranks safer than 49%.
- Safer than 49%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 9
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 6
- 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.
How does Montrose County compare?
Montrose County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
9 8th percentile higher than 8% 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
Montrose County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Colorado county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Montrose County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $11.8M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Lightning 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 Montrose County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 49.0/100 for this county (Relatively Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Relatively Low (roughly $15.6M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Relatively Low) and community resilience (Relatively Low) both factor into how that raw exposure plays out on the ground. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Lightning stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 53 times per year here, based on 105,704 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The state comparison is the clearest context for Montrose County's moderate federal record. Its 9 declarations sit 12% below the Colorado county mean, with 5 Major Disaster entries among them. 3 records concern Flood, the file's most frequent incident type. Spread across 50 years, the registry rate is 0.2 per year. FEMA reports authorized programs separately from the DR, EM, and FM codes.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 6 claims and $60.1K paid in total. PlainHazard calls 1-49 claims a light registry record, a label for this dataset rather than a finding that flood exposure is low. A short claims history can also reflect insurance take-up, the period covered, or losses that were never insured.
Start with the state benchmark: a Colorado county averages 10.2 federal declaration records, while Montrose County has 9. The gap is 12% 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.
45 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Montrose County, CO · 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) Low
7/30
9 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
11/25
9 declarations (0.9x state county average of 10)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
5 of 9 declarations are major disasters (56%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Montrose County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
Moderate
vs. Colorado Avg
-12%
State avg: 10.2
vs. National Avg
-57%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.2
Over 50 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Montrose 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
56%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
49
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Montrose 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 53 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Avalanche | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1,083 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 577 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 82 modeled event-days per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 17 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | roughly once every 60 years |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 67 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 0.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 5 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 19 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 8 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 3
Biological 2
Fire 2
Coastal Storm 1
Drought 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Montrose County's record, 33% of its declarations. Federal flood declarations cover two mechanisms that behave very differently: riverine flooding, which builds over days as a watershed drains and is usually forecast well in advance, and flash flooding, which can arrive in under an hour from rainfall that fell somewhere upstream.
Flood is also the one hazard class where a second federal dataset exists for the same events. The National Flood Insurance Program records what was actually paid on insured losses, so it measures a narrower thing than the declaration count: uninsured damage, and flooding outside mapped special flood hazard areas, never enters it. Reading the two together is more informative than either alone.
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 - 5 55.6%
of all 9 declarations
Emergency - 3 33.3%
of all 9 declarations
Fire Management - 1 11.1%
of all 9 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 2 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 9 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 9 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4498 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-28 |
| 3436 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3224 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Coastal Storm | 2005-09-05 |
| 2442 | CO - BURN CANYON FIRE - 07/15/02 | FM | Fire | 2002-07-15 |
| 1421 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2002-06-19 |
| 719 | SEVERE STORMS, MUDSLIDES, LANDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1984-07-27 |
| 3025 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-01-29 |
| 396 | FLOODING & LANDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 1973-07-06 |
| 293 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1970-09-22 |
Storm Events in Colorado
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Montrose County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 4,913 | 0 | 100 | $2.9B |
| Winter Weather | 2,620 | 3 | 23 | $22.5K |
| High Wind | 1,992 | 5 | 6 | $20.9M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 1,741 | 2 | 11 | $5.4M |
| Winter Storm | 1,497 | 0 | 0 | $848.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
6
Total Paid
$60.1K
Avg Per Claim
$10.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 49.0/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$15.6M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Lightning Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Low
Avalanche Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Earthquake Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Tornado 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: Lightning
Lightning is modeled as a high-frequency, low-per-event hazard: strike counts are large, but each strike affects a very small area. Its aggregate cost accumulates through structure fires, electrical and electronic damage, and it is one of the few hazards whose risk is essentially continuous through the season rather than episodic.
Worth noting for Montrose County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Lightning carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Flood. 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
Montrose County's closest FEMA peer: Gallatin County, MT
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Montrose County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Montrose County shows 9 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
Similar Major-disaster share
Montrose County: 5 of 9 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Montrose County: NRI composite 49.0 (Relatively Low).
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 Montrose County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
FEMA's National Risk Index flags Lightning as the top modeled exposure here (Relatively High); the guide explains how that model differs from declaration counts.
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 Montrose County?
The most common disaster type in Montrose County is Flood, with 3 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Fire (2), Coastal Storm (1).
How does Montrose County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Colorado average?
The typical Colorado county has 10.2 FEMA declaration records; Montrose County has 9, or 12% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 57% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Montrose County received?
Montrose County has received 5 major disaster declarations, representing 56% of all 9 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Montrose County filed?
Montrose County has 6 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $60.1K in payments, with an average of $10.0K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Montrose County?
No. In Montrose County, Lightning has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $11.8M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Montrose County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Montrose County was 2002, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1970 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Montrose County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Montrose County, Colorado has an overall risk score of 49.0 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Low and community resilience is Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $15.6M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Montrose County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Montrose County as of the latest release is Lightning (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Landslide (Relatively Low) and Avalanche (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts lightning here at an average of 53 times per year, drawn from 105,704 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 Montrose County
Against a Colorado county mean of 10 declarations, Montrose County, CO records 9, or 12% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as moderate activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (5 of 9) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Colorado overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 8% of recorded county totals, but its own Colorado benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. Most-disaster rankings
- A short NFIP claims file cannot establish low flood exposure; the data guide explains the limits of each federal measure. 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.