FEMA Records
22
Above median
Virginia · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Northampton County, VA
22 FEMA disaster declarations (1972-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 22
- FEMA declarations
- 14
- Major disasters
- 44
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Northampton County. Its 22 FEMA declarations are 8% above the Virginia county mean and exceed the count for 57% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it safer than 44%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Safer than 44%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 22
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 98
- 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 51131 · Northampton County 22 declarations · rank 1321/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 22
- MAJOR-MID 64%
- RANK-LOWER #1,321
- PHOTO-FINISH Hardy
- NRI-LOW 44
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +8%
Nearest declaration peer: Hardy, WV (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Virginia state profile
Northampton County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Northampton County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Hardy · near 22
Hardy · near
22 declarations
- Northampton · this county 22
Northampton · this county
22 declarations
- Prairie · near 22
Prairie · near
22 declarations
- St. Francis · near 22
St. Francis · near
22 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Northampton County carries 22 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1321 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Northampton County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Northampton County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Northampton County
22 Top 43% higher than 57% 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
Northampton County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Northampton County is led by Hurricane (about $4.7M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively 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 Northampton County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 98 paid claims, totaling $1.1M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $11.5K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Northampton County's 22 federal records stand 8% above the Virginia county mean of 20.4. 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
FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 44.5/100 for this county (Relatively Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Very Low (roughly $9.4M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Very High) and community resilience (Very High) both factor into how that raw exposure plays out on the ground. 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 1.1 modeled event-days per year here, based on 28 historical events on record.
65 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Northampton County, VA · 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) High
16/30
22 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.1x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
13/25
22 declarations (1.1x state county average of 20)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
14 of 22 declarations are major disasters (64%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Northampton County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Northampton 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
64%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
44
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Northampton 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 | 1.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 4 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 4.4 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,225 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 2,805 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 6 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 36 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 40 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | an average of 4 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 11
Severe Storm 3
Biological 2
Snowstorm 2
Winter Storm 1
Earthquake 1
Freezing 1
Flood 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Northampton County's federal record, 50% 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 - 14 63.6%
of all 22 declarations
Emergency - 8 36.4%
of all 22 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 2 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
Show 2 earlier declaration years
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 22 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 22 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3631 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-23 |
| 4512 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-02 |
| 3448 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4411 | TROPICAL STORM MICHAEL | DR | Hurricane | 2018-12-18 |
| 3403 | HURRICANE FLORENCE | EM | Hurricane | 2018-09-11 |
| 4092 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-11-26 |
| 3359 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-29 |
| 4042 | EARTHQUAKE | DR | Earthquake | 2011-11-04 |
| 4024 | HURRICANE IRENE | DR | Hurricane | 2011-09-03 |
| 3329 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-26 |
| 1862 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL DEPRESSION IDA AND A NOR'EAST | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-12-09 |
| 1661 | TROPICAL DEPRESSION ERNESTO, SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-09-22 |
| 3240 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-12 |
| 1491 | HURRICANE ISABEL | DR | Hurricane | 2003-09-18 |
| 1318 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-02-28 |
| 1293 | HURRICANE FLOYD MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATIONS | DR | Hurricane | 1999-09-18 |
| 3147 | HURRICANE FLOYD EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS | EM | Hurricane | 1999-09-16 |
| 1135 | HURRICANE FRAN AND ASSOCIATED SEVERE STORM COND | DR | Hurricane | 1996-09-06 |
| 1086 | BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM) | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-13 |
| 3112 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-25 |
Show 2 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 525 | ICE CONDITIONS | DR | Freezing | 1977-01-26 |
| 339 | TROPICAL STORM AGNES | DR | Flood | 1972-06-23 |
Storm Events in Virginia
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Northampton County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 8,940 | 13 | 31 | $123.1M |
| Flood | 2,300 | 4 | 0 | $85.1M |
| Winter Weather | 2,049 | 6 | 32 | $902.0K |
| Flash Flood | 1,942 | 13 | 4 | $244.2M |
| Heavy Rain | 1,566 | 0 | 0 | $2.5M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
98
Total Paid
$1.1M
Avg Per Claim
$11.5K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 44.5/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$9.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Coastal Flooding Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Wildfire Very Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Tornado Very Low
Lightning Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Winter Weather 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: 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 Northampton 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 Hurricane. 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
Northampton County's closest FEMA peer: Moniteau County, MO
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Northampton County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Northampton County shows 22 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Northampton County: 14 of 22 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Northampton County: NRI composite 44.5 (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 Northampton County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Northampton 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: 44.5 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 22. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Northampton County's NFIP claims file (98 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 Northampton County?
The most common disaster type in Northampton County is Hurricane, with 11 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (3), Biological (2), Snowstorm (2).
How does Northampton County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Virginia average?
FEMA lists 22 declaration records for Northampton County. That is 8% above the Virginia county mean of 20.4. Its count is also 6% 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 Northampton County received?
Northampton County has received 14 major disaster declarations, representing 64% of all 22 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Northampton County filed?
Northampton County has 98 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $1.1M in payments, with an average of $11.5K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Northampton County?
No. In Northampton County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Hurricane leads Expected Annual Loss at about $4.7M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Northampton County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Northampton County was 1996, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1972 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Northampton County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Northampton County, Virginia has an overall risk score of 44.5 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Very High, while community resilience comes in at Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $9.4M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Northampton County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Northampton County as of the latest release is Drought (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Strong Wind (Relatively High) and Hurricane (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 1.1 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 28 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Northampton County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Virginia profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events