FEMA Records
6
Low volume
Wisconsin · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Oconto County, WI
6 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 6
- FEMA declarations
- 3
- Major disasters
- 61
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Start with the local benchmark for Oconto County: 6 FEMA declaration records are 51% below the Wisconsin county mean, even though the count is higher than 3% 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 in the riskiest 39%.
- Riskiest 39%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 6
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 132
- 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 Oconto County compare?
Oconto County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
6 3rd percentile higher than 3% 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
Oconto County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Wisconsin county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Oconto County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $12.5M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Cold Wave 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 Oconto County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 132 paid claims, totaling $1.0M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $7.8K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
Start with the state benchmark: a Wisconsin county averages 12.3 federal declaration records, while Oconto County has 6. The gap is 51% 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, 61.5/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $22.4M 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. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Cold Wave carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 6 times per year here, based on 102 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The state comparison is the clearest context for Oconto County's moderate federal record. Its 6 declarations sit 51% below the Wisconsin county mean, with 3 Major Disaster entries among them. 2 records concern Flood, the file's most frequent incident type. Spread across 47 years, the registry rate is 0.1 per year. FEMA reports authorized programs separately from the DR, EM, and FM codes.
33 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Oconto County, WI · 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
4/30
6 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.3x national county average)
County Disaster Density Low
6/25
6 declarations (0.5x state county average of 12)
Major Disaster Share High
13/25
3 of 6 declarations are major disasters (50%)
Hazard Diversity High
10/20
4 different disaster types declared in Oconto County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
Moderate
vs. Wisconsin Avg
-51%
State avg: 12.3
vs. National Avg
-71%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.1
Over 47 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Oconto 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
50%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
61
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Oconto 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 6 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 30 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.7 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1 time per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 5 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.8 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 23,333 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 16 times per year |
| Coastal Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 69 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 6 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 0.8 modeled event-days per year |
| Drought | Very Low | 0.3 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 2,950 years |
| Hurricane | No Rating | roughly once every 834 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Biological 2
Flood 2
Hurricane 1
Drought 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Oconto 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 - 3 50.0%
of all 6 declarations
Emergency - 3 50.0%
of all 6 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 6 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 6 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4520 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-04 |
| 3454 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4459 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2019-08-27 |
| 3249 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 3014 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1976-06-17 |
| 376 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-04-27 |
Storm Events in Wisconsin
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Oconto County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 3,504 | 5 | 23 | $45.0M |
| Hail | 2,620 | 0 | 0 | $57.8M |
| Winter Weather | 1,939 | 43 | 152 | $2.1M |
| Winter Storm | 1,338 | 15 | 86 | $2.3M |
| Flood | 740 | 12 | 4 | $115.6M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
132
Total Paid
$1.0M
Avg Per Claim
$7.8K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 61.5/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$22.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively High
Hail Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Landslide Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Coastal Flooding Very Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Drought 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: Cold Wave
Cold Wave measures exposure to extreme cold rather than to snow. Its harm is concentrated in health effects, burst infrastructure and energy demand spikes, and it falls hardest where the building stock and the grid were not built with sustained cold in mind.
Worth noting for Oconto County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Cold Wave carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), 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
Oconto County's closest FEMA peer: Iron County, UT
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Oconto County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Oconto County: NRI composite 61.5 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Oconto County: 3 of 6 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Oconto County shows 6 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
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 Oconto County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Oconto County's NFIP claims file (132 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 Oconto County?
The most common disaster type in Oconto County is Flood, with 2 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Hurricane (1), Drought (1).
How does Oconto County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Wisconsin average?
The typical Wisconsin county has 12.3 FEMA declaration records; Oconto County has 6, or 51% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 71% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Oconto County received?
Oconto County has received 3 major disaster declarations, representing 50% of all 6 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Oconto County filed?
Oconto County has 132 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $1.0M in payments, with an average of $7.8K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Oconto County?
No. In Oconto County, Cold Wave has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $12.5M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Oconto County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Oconto County was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Oconto County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Oconto County, Wisconsin has an overall risk score of 61.5 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively Low; on community resilience, Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $22.4M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Oconto County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Oconto County is Cold Wave (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Lightning (Relatively High) and Hail (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts cold wave here at an average of 6 times per year, drawn from 102 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.
What this means for Oconto County
Against a Wisconsin county mean of 12 declarations, Oconto County, WI records 6, or 51% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as moderate activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (3 of 6) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Wisconsin overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 3% of recorded county totals, but its own Wisconsin 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.