FEMA Records
16
Below median
Minnesota · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Mower County, MN
16 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 16
- FEMA declarations
- 13
- Major disasters
- 67
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Mower County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 16 declarations, more than 27% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 10% below the Minnesota county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 33%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 33%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 16
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 733
- 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 27099 · Mower County 16 declarations · rank 2282/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-HEAVY · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-MID 16
- MAJOR-HEAVY 81%
- RANK-LOWER #2,282
- PHOTO-FINISH Greene
- NRI-LOW 67
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-BELOW -10%
Nearest declaration peer: Greene, GA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Minnesota state profile
Mower County among counties with fewer federal records
FEMA declaration records among Mower County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Frontier · near 16
Frontier · near
16 declarations
- Greene · near 16
Greene · near
16 declarations
- Mower · this county 16
Mower · this county
16 declarations
- Terrell · near 16
Terrell · near
16 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Mower County carries 16 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2282 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Mower County versus quieter counties in this dataset
Mower County among lower-declaration counties nationally
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Mower County
16 27th percentile higher than 27% 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
Mower County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Mower County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $16.4M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very High), while Drought 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 Mower County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 733 claims and $11.0M 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 $15.1K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
Start with the state benchmark: a Minnesota county averages 17.7 federal declaration records, while Mower County has 16. The gap is 10% 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, 67.3/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $26.9M in annualized losses), and a Relatively Low social-vulnerability profile combined with Very High community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Drought stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at 19 modeled event-days per year here, based on 588 historical events on record.
61 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Mower County, MN · 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
12/30
16 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.8x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
11/25
16 declarations (0.9x state county average of 18)
Major Disaster Share Very High
20/25
13 of 16 declarations are major disasters (81%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Mower County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Mower 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
81%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
67
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Mower 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively High | 19 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 4.6 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 19 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.9 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 10 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 3.6 modeled event-days per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 14 years |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 39 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 21,669 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 2,457 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 6
Flood 4
Biological 2
Hurricane 1
Tornado 1
Severe Ice Storm 1
Drought 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Mower County's record, 38% 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 - 13 81.3%
of all 16 declarations
Emergency - 3 18.8%
of all 16 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 16 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 16 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4797 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2024-06-28 |
| 4531 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-07 |
| 3453 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4442 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2019-06-12 |
| 1941 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-10-13 |
| 1772 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-06-25 |
| 3242 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1569 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-10-07 |
| 1370 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR | Flood | 2001-05-16 |
| 1333 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-06-27 |
| 1225 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1998-06-23 |
| 993 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1993-06-11 |
| 929 | ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 1991-12-26 |
| 560 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, HAIL & TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 1978-07-08 |
| 3013 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1976-06-17 |
| 188 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1965-04-11 |
Storm Events in Minnesota
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Mower County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 4,420 | 13 | 25 | $68.2M |
| Hail | 4,203 | 0 | 0 | $34.5M |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 1,789 | 7 | 4 | $55.0K |
| Winter Storm | 1,695 | 2 | 17 | $10.0M |
| Heavy Snow | 1,190 | 9 | 14 | $1.0M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
733
Total Paid
$11.0M
Avg Per Claim
$15.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 67.3/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$26.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Relatively High
Hail Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Lightning Very Low
Wildfire Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Hurricane 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: Drought
Drought is the slowest of the modeled hazards and the least visible: it does its damage to agriculture, water supply and soil over seasons rather than hours, so it rarely produces the kind of single-day damage that drives a disaster declaration. FEMA scores it in event-days per year rather than discrete events for exactly that reason.
Worth noting for Mower County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Drought carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively 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
Mower County's closest FEMA peer: Aleutians West Census Area, AK
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Mower County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Mower County: NRI composite 67.3 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Mower County: 13 of 16 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Mower County shows 16 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 Mower County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Mower 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: 67.3 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 16. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Mower County's NFIP claims file (733 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 Mower County?
The most common disaster type in Mower County is Severe Storm, with 6 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (4), Biological (2), Hurricane (1).
How does Mower County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Minnesota average?
The typical Minnesota county has 17.7 FEMA declaration records; Mower County has 16, or 10% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 23% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Mower County received?
Mower County has received 13 major disaster declarations, representing 81% of all 16 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Mower County filed?
Mower County has 733 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $11.0M in payments, with an average of $15.1K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Mower County?
No. In Mower County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $16.4M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Mower County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Mower County was 2005, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Mower County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Mower County, Minnesota has an overall risk score of 67.3 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Low and community resilience is Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $26.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Mower County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Mower County is Drought (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Hail (Relatively Moderate) and Tornado (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 19 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 588 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 Mower County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Minnesota profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events