FEMA Records
16
Below median
Michigan · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Ottawa County, MI
16 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 16
- FEMA declarations
- 10
- Major disasters
- 83
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Ottawa County. Its 16 FEMA declarations are 60% above the Michigan county mean and exceed the count for 27% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 17%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 17%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 16
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 336
- 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 Ottawa County compare?
Ottawa County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
16 27th percentile higher than 27% 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
Ottawa County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Michigan county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Ottawa County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $44.6M 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 Ottawa County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 336 paid claims, totaling $3.3M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $9.9K 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. Ottawa County's 16 federal records stand 60% above the Michigan county mean of 10.0. 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 82.9/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $68.2M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Very Low and community resilience Very 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 2.2 times per year here, based on 31 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 16 entries for Ottawa County, including 10 Major Disaster records, 60% above the Michigan county mean. Across the 55-year span, that works out to 0.3 declarations a year. Flood leads the file with 4 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
63 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Ottawa County, MI · 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) Moderate
12/30
16 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.8x national county average)
County Disaster Density Very High
20/25
16 declarations (1.6x state county average of 10)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
10 of 16 declarations are major disasters (63%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Ottawa County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Michigan Avg
+60%
State avg: 10.0
vs. National Avg
-23%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.3
Over 55 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Ottawa 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
63%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
83
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Ottawa 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 2.2 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 3 years |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 32 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 33 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 2.3 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1,416 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 9 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 80 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 47,345 years |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 130 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 4
Severe Storm 4
Snowstorm 4
Biological 2
Hurricane 1
Tornado 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Ottawa County's record, 25% 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 - 10 62.5%
of all 16 declarations
Emergency - 6 37.5%
of all 16 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1975 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 16 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 16 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4494 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-27 |
| 3455 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4121 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2013-06-18 |
| 1777 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-07-14 |
| 3225 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-07 |
| 1527 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-06-30 |
| 3160 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2001-01-10 |
| 3137 | MI - SEVERE WEATHER 1/2 /99 | EM | Snowstorm | 1999-01-27 |
| 1226 | SEVERE STORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-06-24 |
| 774 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1986-09-18 |
| 631 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1980-09-08 |
| 3057 | BLIZZARDS & SNOWSTORMS | EM | Snowstorm | 1978-01-27 |
| 3030 | SNOWSTORMS | EM | Snowstorm | 1977-02-05 |
| 495 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, ICING & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1976-03-19 |
| 486 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH WINDS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1975-09-30 |
| 190 | TORNADOES & SEVERE STORMS | DR | Tornado | 1965-04-14 |
Storm Events in Michigan
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Ottawa County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 3,010 | 10 | 18 | $173.8M |
| Winter Storm | 1,486 | 3 | 11 | $41.8M |
| Winter Weather | 1,254 | 21 | 38 | $892.0K |
| Hail | 962 | 0 | 0 | $77.1M |
| High Wind | 389 | 3 | 2 | $668.9M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
336
Total Paid
$3.3M
Avg Per Claim
$9.9K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 82.9/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$68.2M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Strong Wind Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Earthquake Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Coastal Flooding Very Low
Wildfire Very Low
Hurricane Very Low
Drought 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: 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.
Worth noting for Ottawa County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Strong Wind carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), 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
Ottawa County's closest FEMA peer: Yamhill County, OR
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Ottawa County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Ottawa County: NRI composite 82.9 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar Major-disaster share
Ottawa County: 10 of 16 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Ottawa County shows 16 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 Ottawa County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Ottawa County's NFIP claims file (336 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 Ottawa County?
The most common disaster type in Ottawa County is Flood, with 4 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (4), Snowstorm (4), Biological (2).
How does Ottawa County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Michigan average?
FEMA lists 16 declaration records for Ottawa County. That is 60% above the Michigan county mean of 10.0. Its count is also 23% below 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 Ottawa County received?
Ottawa County has received 10 major disaster declarations, representing 63% of all 16 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Ottawa County filed?
Ottawa County has 336 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $3.3M in payments, with an average of $9.9K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Ottawa County?
No. In Ottawa County, Strong Wind has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $44.6M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Ottawa County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Ottawa County was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Ottawa County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Ottawa County, Michigan has an overall risk score of 82.9 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). The county's social vulnerability rating is Very Low and community resilience is Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $68.2M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Ottawa County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Ottawa County as of the latest release is Strong Wind (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Riverine Flooding (Relatively Moderate) and Tornado (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts strong wind here at an average of 2.2 times per year, drawn from 31 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.
What this means for Ottawa County
Ottawa County, MI has 16 federal declaration records, 60% more than the Michigan county mean of 10; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 10 of 16 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. Michigan overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the Michigan mean and the totals for 27% of 3,266 U.S. counties. 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
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.
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.