FEMA Records
26
High volume
Texas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Palo Pinto County, TX
26 FEMA disaster declarations (1982-2021), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Fire.
- 26
- FEMA declarations
- 12
- Major disasters
- 55
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Fire
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Palo Pinto County. Its 26 FEMA declarations are 24% above the Texas county mean and exceed the count for 75% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 45%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 45%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 26
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 97
- 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 48363 · Palo Pinto County 26 declarations · rank 736/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-LIGHT · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 26
- MAJOR-LIGHT 46%
- RANK-MID #736
- PHOTO-FINISH Hunterdon
- NRI-LOW 55
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Fire
- VS-ST-ABOVE +24%
Nearest declaration peer: Hunterdon, NJ (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Texas state profile
Palo Pinto County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Palo Pinto County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Hunterdon · near 26
Hunterdon · near
26 declarations
- Palo Pinto · this county 26
Palo Pinto · this county
26 declarations
- Pierce · near 26
Pierce · near
26 declarations
- San Sebastián · near 26
San Sebastián · near
26 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Palo Pinto County carries 26 FEMA declaration records, ranked 736 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Palo Pinto County ranks in the national declaration registry
Palo Pinto County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Palo Pinto County
26 Top 25% higher than 75% 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
Palo Pinto County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Palo Pinto County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $7.2M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Hail 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 Palo Pinto County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 97 paid claims, totaling $1.4M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $14.4K 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. Palo Pinto County's 26 federal records stand 24% above the Texas county mean of 20.9. 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 carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 55.2/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $14.7M in annualized losses), and a Relatively High social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively High community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Hail carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 7.7 times per year here, based on 293 historical events on record.
65 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Palo Pinto County, TX · 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) High
19/30
26 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.3x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
16/25
26 declarations (1.2x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share Moderate
12/25
12 of 26 declarations are major disasters (46%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Palo Pinto County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Palo Pinto 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
46%
Mixed major share
NRI risk score
55
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Palo Pinto 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 7.7 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 178 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.8 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 12 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.5 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 61 modeled event-days per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 4.9 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 50 times per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 98 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 2,012 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Fire 11
Severe Storm 4
Flood 3
Hurricane 3
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Drought 1
What Fire declarations mean here
Fire is the most frequent declaration type on Palo Pinto County's record, 42% of its declarations. Wildfire is the one hazard here with its own dedicated federal instrument: the Fire Management Assistance Grant, which appears in this data as an FM record. An FMAG can be authorised while a fire is still burning, on a timescale of hours, because its purpose is to reimburse the cost of fighting a fire that threatens to become a major disaster.
That distinction matters when comparing counties. An FM declaration is not a presidential major disaster declaration and does not carry the same assistance programmes, so a fire-heavy county's total is not directly comparable with a hurricane-heavy county's total unless the declaration types are separated, which is why they are listed separately on this page.
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 - 12 46.2%
of all 26 declarations
Emergency - 8 30.8%
of all 26 declarations
Fire Management - 6 23.1%
of all 26 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 5 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
Show 2 earlier declaration years
| 1989 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 26 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 26 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4586 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-19 |
| 3554 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-14 |
| 4485 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3458 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4272 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-06-11 |
| 4223 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-05-29 |
| 2952 | 101 RANCH FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-08-30 |
| 1999 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2011-07-01 |
| 2893 | HOHERTZ FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-04-16 |
| 2895 | PK EAST FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-04-16 |
| 2888 | PK WEST FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-04-15 |
| 2814 | 1148 FIRE | FM | Fire | 2009-04-10 |
| 3284 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2008-03-14 |
| 2667 | CADDO II FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2006-08-19 |
| 1624 | EXTREME WILDFIRE THREAT | DR | Fire | 2006-01-11 |
| 1606 | HURRICANE RITA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-09-24 |
| 3261 | HURRICANE RITA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-21 |
| 3216 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-02 |
| 3142 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARDS | EM | Fire | 1999-09-01 |
| 1239 | TROPICAL STORM CHARLEY | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-08-26 |
Show 6 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3117 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | EM | Fire | 1996-02-23 |
| 3113 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | EM | Drought | 1993-09-10 |
| 930 | SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS | DR | Flood | 1991-12-26 |
| 863 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1990-05-02 |
| 828 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1989-05-19 |
| 648 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1981-10-23 |
Storm Events in Texas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Palo Pinto County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 14,072 | 0 | 15 | $7.4B |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 10,293 | 41 | 141 | $369.9M |
| Drought | 7,032 | 0 | 0 | $86.0K |
| Flash Flood | 4,728 | 338 | 24 | $47.6B |
| Heat | 4,079 | 119 | 405 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
97
Total Paid
$1.4M
Avg Per Claim
$14.4K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 55.2/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$14.7M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hail Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Earthquake Very 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: Hail
Hail is among the most expensive hazards in the model relative to how little it threatens life. It concentrates on roofs, vehicles and crops, and a single severe storm can generate an insurance loss across a metropolitan area without a single injury.
Worth noting for Palo Pinto County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Hail carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), while the county's declaration history is led by Fire. 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
Palo Pinto County's closest FEMA peer: Marlboro County, SC
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Palo Pinto County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Palo Pinto County shows 26 FEMA declarations, led by Fire.
Similar Major-disaster share
Palo Pinto County: 12 of 26 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Palo Pinto County: NRI composite 55.2 (Relatively Low).
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 Palo Pinto County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Palo Pinto 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: 55.2 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 26. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Palo Pinto County's NFIP claims file (97 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 Palo Pinto County?
The most common disaster type in Palo Pinto County is Fire, with 11 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (4), Flood (3), Hurricane (3).
How does Palo Pinto County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Texas average?
FEMA lists 26 declaration records for Palo Pinto County. That is 24% above the Texas county mean of 20.9. Its count is also 25% 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 Palo Pinto County received?
Palo Pinto County has received 12 major disaster declarations, representing 46% of all 26 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Palo Pinto County filed?
Palo Pinto County has 97 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $1.4M in payments, with an average of $14.4K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Palo Pinto County?
No. In Palo Pinto County, Hail has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $7.2M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Palo Pinto County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Palo Pinto County was 2011, with 5 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1982 to 2021.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Palo Pinto County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Palo Pinto County, Texas has an overall risk score of 55.2 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively High, while community resilience comes in at Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $14.7M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Palo Pinto County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Palo Pinto County is Hail (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Wildfire (Relatively Moderate) and Landslide (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hail here at an average of 7.7 times per year, drawn from 293 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Palo Pinto County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Texas profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events