FEMA Records
42
Very high volume
Oklahoma · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
42 FEMA disaster declarations (1971-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Osage County. Its 42 FEMA declarations are 30% above the Oklahoma county mean and exceed the count for 97% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 22%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
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.
Osage County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
42 Top 3% higher than 97% 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
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Osage County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $11.6M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Ice Storm carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Very 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.
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 96 paid claims, totaling $1.2M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $12.2K 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. Osage County's 42 federal records stand 30% above the Oklahoma county mean of 32.2. 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.
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 78.1/100 (Relatively Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Low (roughly $27.6M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Very High and community resilience Relatively Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Ice Storm stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 1 years here, based on 59 historical events on record.
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 42 entries for Osage County, including 30 Major Disaster records, 30% above the Oklahoma county mean. Across the 55-year span, that works out to 0.8 declarations a year. Severe Storm leads the file with 15 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Osage County, OK · 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
42 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.0x national county average)
42 declarations (1.3x state county average of 32)
30 of 42 declarations are major disasters (71%)
7 different disaster types declared in Osage County
Activity Band
High
vs. Oklahoma Avg
+30%
State avg: 32.2
vs. National Avg
+103%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.8
Over 55 years
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
FEMA Records
42
Very high volume
Major Disaster share
71%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
78
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ice Storm | Very High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 88 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 24 modeled event-days per year |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 56 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.3 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.1 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.1 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 9.5 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 7 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 53 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 889 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 9.3 times per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 111 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Osage County's record, 36% 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.
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
of all 42 declarations
of all 42 declarations
of all 42 declarations
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 3 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 4 | |
| 2010 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 3 | |
| 2007 | 3 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 2 | |
| 1975 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 2 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1971 | 1 | |
How the 42 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 42 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5621 | RATTLESNAKE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2026-02-19 |
| 5544 | NORTH ROAD FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-10-30 |
| 4776 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 2024-04-30 |
| 4587 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-24 |
| 3555 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-17 |
| 4530 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-05 |
| 3462 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4453 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-07-12 |
| 4438 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-06-01 |
| 3411 | FLOODING | EM | Flood | 2019-05-25 |
| 4256 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2016-02-10 |
| 1989 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-06-06 |
| 1985 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-05-13 |
| 2874 | OSAGE COUNTY FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2011-03-24 |
| 3316 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2011-02-02 |
| 1917 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-05-24 |
| 1876 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-02-25 |
| 3308 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2010-01-30 |
| 1775 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-07-09 |
| 1735 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2007-12-18 |
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3280 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2007-12-10 |
| 1712 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-07-07 |
| 1678 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-02-01 |
| 3272 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2007-01-14 |
| 2628 | SPERRY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2006-01-19 |
| 1623 | EXTREME WILDFIRE THREAT | DR | Fire | 2006-01-10 |
| 3219 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1465 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-05-10 |
| 1452 | SEVERE ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2003-02-04 |
| 1401 | SEVERE WINTER ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2002-02-01 |
| 1355 | SEVERE WINTER ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2001-01-05 |
| 1058 | TORNADOES, SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 1995-06-26 |
| 991 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1993-05-12 |
| 905 | SEVERE STORMS & TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1991-05-08 |
| 778 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1986-10-14 |
| 709 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1984-05-31 |
| 704 | SEVERE STORMS & TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1984-05-03 |
| 453 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-11-26 |
| 441 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-06-10 |
| 419 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-03-22 |
| 392 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, & TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 1973-06-13 |
| 314 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODS | DR | Flood | 1971-09-28 |
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Osage County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 5,894 | 0 | 1 | $19.8M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5,592 | 6 | 36 | $199.5M |
| Drought | 2,935 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Heat | 2,134 | 7 | 428 | $0 |
| Excessive Heat | 1,771 | 2 | 401 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
Total Claims
96
Total Paid
$1.2M
Avg Per Claim
$12.2K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 78.1/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$27.6M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
Ice storms load power lines and tree limbs with accumulating freezing rain until they fail. The characteristic cost is infrastructure and multi-day power loss across a wide area rather than structural damage to buildings, which is why their consequences often outlast the weather that caused them.
Worth noting for Osage County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Ice Storm carries the highest modeled rating (Very 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
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Osage County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Osage County shows 42 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Osage County: 30 of 42 of its declarations are Major.
Osage County: NRI composite 78.1 (Relatively Low).
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 Osage County - capture-dated entries only.
Understanding disaster data
Osage County's NFIP claims file (96 claims) and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records - this guide separates them from modeled NRI risk.
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 Osage County
Osage County, OK has 42 federal declaration records, 30% more than the Oklahoma county mean of 32; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
An above-average declaration count records past federal responses; it does not predict the next event. Current warnings come from the National Weather Service and local emergency officials.
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.
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.