FEMA Records
36
Very high volume
New York · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Orange County, NY
36 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2025), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 36
- FEMA declarations
- 21
- Major disasters
- 91
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Orange County. Its 36 FEMA declarations are 47% above the New York county mean and exceed the count for 94% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 9%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 9%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 36
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 2,030
- 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 36071 · Orange County 36 declarations · rank 191/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-MID · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 36
- MAJOR-MID 58%
- RANK-UPPER #191
- PHOTO-FINISH Hardee
- NRI-MID 91
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +47%
Nearest declaration peer: Hardee, FL (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · New York state profile
Orange County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Orange County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Hardee · near
Hardee · near
36 declarations
- Orange · this county
Orange · this county
36 declarations
- Pearl River · near
Pearl River · near
36 declarations
- Suffolk · near
Suffolk · near
36 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Orange County carries 36 FEMA declaration records, ranked 191 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Orange County ranks in the national declaration registry
Orange County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Orange County
36 Top 6% higher than 94% 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
Orange County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Orange County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $63.2M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Strong Wind 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 Orange County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 2,030 claims and $26.8M 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 $13.2K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Orange County's 36 federal records stand 47% above the New York county mean of 24.5. 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
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 90.6/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $98.7M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Low and community resilience Relatively High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Strong Wind stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 4.6 times per year here, based on 176 historical events on record.
79 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Orange County, NY · 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) Very High
26/30
36 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.7x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
18/25
36 declarations (1.5x state county average of 25)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
21 of 36 declarations are major disasters (58%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Orange County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Orange 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
58%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
91
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Orange 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 4.6 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 15 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 2.8 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1 time per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 14 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 30 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 5.7 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 607 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 4 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 1.2 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 2,989 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 2.4 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 10
Hurricane 10
Snowstorm 4
Flood 4
Fire 3
Biological 2
Other 2
Drought 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Orange County's record, 28% 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 - 21 58.3%
of all 36 declarations
Emergency - 13 36.1%
of all 36 declarations
Fire Management - 2 5.6%
of all 36 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 3 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 4 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 3 | |
| 2001 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 3 | |
Show 6 earlier declaration years
| 1996 | 2 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
| 1971 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 36 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 36 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5547 | JENNINGS CREEK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-11-15 |
| 4723 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-07-22 |
| 4615 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR | Hurricane | 2021-09-05 |
| 3572 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | EM | Hurricane | 2021-09-02 |
| 3565 | HURRICANE HENRI | EM | Hurricane | 2021-08-22 |
| 4480 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-20 |
| 3434 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4085 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-10-30 |
| 3351 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-28 |
| 4031 | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM LEE | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-09-13 |
| 4020 | HURRICANE IRENE | DR | Hurricane | 2011-08-31 |
| 3328 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-26 |
| 1899 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-04-16 |
| 3299 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2008-12-18 |
| 1692 | SEVERE STORMS AND INLAND AND COASTAL FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-04-24 |
| 1650 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-07-01 |
| 3262 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-30 |
| 1589 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-04-19 |
| 1565 | TROPICAL DEPRESSION IVAN | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-10-01 |
| 1564 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-10-01 |
Show 16 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1534 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-08-03 |
| 3186 | POWER OUTAGE | EM | Other | 2003-08-23 |
| 3184 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-03-27 |
| 3173 | SNOWSTORMS | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-02-25 |
| 1391 | FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS | DR | Fire | 2001-09-11 |
| 3155 | WEST NILE VIRUS | EM | Other | 2000-10-11 |
| 1296 | HURRICANE FLOYD MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATIONS | DR | Hurricane | 1999-09-19 |
| 3149 | HURRICANE FLOYD EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS | EM | Hurricane | 1999-09-18 |
| 2269 | WEST POINT FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 1999-08-09 |
| 1095 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1996-01-24 |
| 1083 | BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM) | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-12 |
| 3107 | SEVERE BLIZZARD | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-17 |
| 702 | COASTAL STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1984-04-17 |
| 338 | TROPICAL STORM AGNES | DR | Flood | 1972-06-23 |
| 311 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1971-09-13 |
| 204 | WATER SHORTAGE | DR | Drought | 1965-08-18 |
Storm Events in New York
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Orange County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 8,295 | 6 | 45 | $45.0M |
| Winter Weather | 2,261 | 7 | 17 | $705.5K |
| Flash Flood | 1,775 | 23 | 3 | $674.3M |
| Strong Wind | 1,399 | 2 | 12 | $9.2M |
| Winter Storm | 1,228 | 13 | 2 | $4.9M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
2,030
Total Paid
$26.8M
Avg Per Claim
$13.2K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 90.6/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$98.7M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Strong Wind Relatively High
Winter Weather Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Very Low
Avalanche Very Low
Coastal Flooding Relatively Low
Hail Relatively 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: Strong Wind
Strong Wind covers damaging non-thunderstorm, non-tornadic wind, the kind produced by steep pressure gradients and downslope events. It is a broad, frequent, low-drama hazard: roofs, signage, power lines and high-profile vehicles, spread across a wide area rather than concentrated on a path.
For Orange County the two measures on this page point the same way: Strong Wind is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively High), 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
Orange County's closest FEMA peer: Union Parish, LA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Orange County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Orange County shows 36 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Orange County: 21 of 36 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Orange County: NRI composite 90.6 (Relatively Moderate).
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 Orange County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Orange 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: 90.6 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 36. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Orange County's NFIP claims file (2,030 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 Orange County?
The most common disaster type in Orange County is Severe Storm, with 10 declarations. Other disaster types include Hurricane (10), Snowstorm (4), Flood (4).
How does Orange County's FEMA declaration record compare with the New York average?
FEMA lists 36 declaration records for Orange County. That is 47% above the New York county mean of 24.5. Its count is also 74% 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 Orange County received?
Orange County has received 21 major disaster declarations, representing 58% of all 36 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Orange County filed?
Orange County has 2,030 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $26.8M in payments, with an average of $13.2K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Orange County?
No. In Orange County, Strong Wind has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $63.2M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Orange County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Orange County was 2005, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2025.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Orange County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Orange County, New York has an overall risk score of 90.6 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Low and community resilience is Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $98.7M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Orange County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Orange County is Strong Wind (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Winter Weather (Relatively High) and Riverine Flooding (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts strong wind here at an average of 4.6 times per year, drawn from 176 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Orange County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · New York profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events