FEMA Records
1
Total declarations
Michigan · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Otsego County, MI
1 FEMA disaster declarations (2025–2025), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Severe Ice Storm.
- 1
- FEMA declarations
- 1
- Major disasters
- 18
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Severe Ice Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Otsego County ranks safer than 18% of U.S. counties for FEMA-modeled hazard risk, with more federally declared disasters than 0% of the 2,791 counties FEMA tracks. FEMA rates the county's overall risk as Very Low, based on 1 federal disaster declarations recorded since 2025, most often severe ice storm, 74% below the national county average of 4.
- Safer than 18%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 1
- FEMA declarations vs 4 national county avg
- 1
- severe ice storm declarations, the most common hazard here
FEMA's National Risk Index score reflects expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience; the declaration count above reflects only Presidentially declared disasters, not every hazard event.
How does Otsego County compare?
Otsego County vs. every U.S. county
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
1 0th percentile higher than 0% of 2,791 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 · 2026-07-25
Otsego County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Michigan county average
How disaster-prone is Otsego County?
Declaration frequency
Otsego County, Michigan has recorded 1 FEMA disaster declarations between 2025 and 2025, of which 1 were classified as Major Disaster declarations (DR) requiring federal individual and public assistance. That puts the county's average at - declarations per year, or roughly 27% below the Michigan county average of 1.4 and 74% below the national county average of 3.8. The dominant disaster type on record is Severe Ice Storm, with 1 of 1 declarations falling under this category.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county's FEMA National Risk Index composite lands at 18.4/100 (Very Low), a modest reading against the rest of the country. Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $7.6M in annualized losses), tempered or compounded by a Relatively Low social-vulnerability score and Relatively High community-resilience score. Even the county's top-rated hazard, Hail, only reaches Relatively Low on FEMA's scale, none of the 18 modeled hazards stand out here.
Flood exposure & the bottom line
Taken together, Otsego County's federal disaster history is about as quiet as U.S. counties get, a very low relative risk level on this measure.
Risk Assessment
Risk Level
Very Low
vs. Michigan Avg
-27%
State avg: 1.4
vs. National Avg
-74%
National avg: 3.8
Avg Per Year
-
-
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Otsego County
How to read this radar
The radar plots Otsego County's relative exposure to the eight headline natural hazards used by the FEMA National Risk Index. Each axis is the qualitative NRI risk rating (Very Low through Very High) re-expressed on a 0-100 scale so that the polygon shape lets you compare a county against another at a glance. A rounder polygon means broad multi-hazard exposure; a spiky polygon means one or two dominant hazards drive most of the modeled risk.
NRI Source
FEMA 2023
Latest NRI release
County FIPS
26137
MI state code
Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, 2023 release
Disaster Types
Severe Ice Storm 1
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster - 1 100.0%
of all 1 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4880 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2025-07-22 |
Storm Events in Michigan
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 3,557 | 13 | 18 | $182.8M |
| Winter Storm | 1,850 | 4 | 12 | $41.9M |
| Winter Weather | 1,448 | 22 | 39 | $990.0K |
| Hail | 1,096 | 0 | 0 | $87.1M |
| High Wind | 445 | 3 | 2 | $669.0M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015–2025
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 18.4/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$7.6M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hail Relatively Low
Landslide Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Winter Weather Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Drought No Rating
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
Counties with Similar Risk in Michigan
Disaster Preparedness Guides
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
How many natural disasters has Otsego County, Michigan had?
Otsego County, Michigan has received 1 FEMA disaster declarations from 2025 to 2025. Of these, 1 were major disaster declarations.
What is the most common disaster type in Otsego County?
The most common disaster type in Otsego County is Severe Ice Storm, with 1 declaration.
How does Otsego County's disaster risk compare to the Michigan average?
Otsego County has 1 disaster declarations, which is 27% lower than the Michigan county average of 1.4 declarations. Compared to the national county average of 3.8, it is 74% lower.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Otsego County received?
Otsego County has received 1 major disaster declaration, representing 100% of all 1 disaster declarations. Major disaster declarations typically involve significant damage requiring federal assistance.
What types of storms are most common in Michigan?
The most common storm types in Michigan include Thunderstorm Wind (3,557 events), Winter Storm (1,850 events), Winter Weather (1,448 events). NOAA storm event data covers severe weather from 2015 to 2025.
What is the overall disaster risk level for Otsego County?
Otsego County has just 1 FEMA disaster declaration on record, placing it in the very-low-risk band, among the quieter counties in FEMA's declaration history.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Otsego County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Otsego County, Michigan has an overall risk score of 18.4 out of 100 (Very Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Low and community resilience is Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $7.6M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Otsego County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Otsego County is Hail (risk rating: Relatively Low). Other significant hazards include Landslide (Relatively Low) and Lightning (Relatively Moderate). 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.
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 Otsego County
Otsego County, MI runs 27% below the Michigan county average for federal disaster declarations (1 vs 1), a very low historical load overall.
- Its most common federal declaration type is major disaster (1 of 1) - know the hazards most likely here before they happen. Michigan overview
- See how this county ranks against the rest of the country for disaster frequency. Most-disaster rankings
- Read how to read FEMA declarations, NRI risk scores, and what they do and don't tell you. Disaster-data guide
Historical declaration counts describe past federal response, not a forecast. For current threats, follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, this profile draws on 2,791 tracked U.S. counties in FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries dataset, refreshed as of 2026-07-25. 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. This page draws directly on FEMA federal disaster data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, or report a data error.