FEMA Records
38
Very high volume
North Dakota · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Pembina County, ND
38 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2023), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 38
- FEMA declarations
- 33
- Major disasters
- 21
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Pembina County. Its 38 FEMA declarations are 47% above the North Dakota county mean and exceed the count for 95% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it safer than 21%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Safer than 21%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 38
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 610
- 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 Pembina County compare?
Pembina County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
38 Top 5% higher than 95% 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
Pembina County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the North Dakota county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Pembina County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $2.9M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Winter Weather 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 Pembina County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 610 claims and $3.7M 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 $6.1K. 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. Pembina County's 38 federal records stand 47% above the North Dakota county mean of 25.9. 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.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 38 entries for Pembina County, including 33 Major Disaster records, 47% above the North Dakota county mean. Across the 58-year span, that works out to 0.7 declarations a year. Flood leads the file with 24 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county's FEMA National Risk Index composite lands at 20.9/100 (Very Low), a modest reading against the rest of the country. Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $6.4M in annualized losses), tempered or compounded by a Relatively Moderate social-vulnerability score and Relatively Low community-resilience score. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Winter Weather carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 22 times per year here, based on 421 historical events on record.
78 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Pembina County, ND · 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
28/30
38 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.8x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
18/25
38 declarations (1.5x state county average of 26)
Major Disaster Share Very High
22/25
33 of 38 declarations are major disasters (87%)
Hazard Diversity High
10/20
4 different disaster types declared in Pembina County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. North Dakota Avg
+47%
State avg: 25.9
vs. National Avg
+83%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.7
Over 58 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Pembina 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
87%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
21
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Pembina 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 22 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 3 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 23 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 594 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 2.3 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 26 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 9 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 6.5 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | an average of 1.8 times per year |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 1.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 13,699 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 24
Severe Storm 11
Biological 2
Coastal Storm 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Pembina County's record, 63% 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 - 33 86.8%
of all 38 declarations
Emergency - 5 13.2%
of all 38 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 3 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
Show 15 earlier declaration years
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1975 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
| 1966 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 38 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 38 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4717 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2023-07-05 |
| 4660 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2022-07-13 |
| 4553 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2020-07-09 |
| 4509 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-01 |
| 3477 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4444 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2019-06-12 |
| 4323 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2017-07-12 |
| 4128 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-07-12 |
| 4118 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2013-05-29 |
| 3364 | FLOODING | EM | Flood | 2013-04-26 |
| 1981 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2011-05-10 |
| 3318 | FLOODING | EM | Flood | 2011-04-07 |
| 1907 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2010-04-30 |
| 3309 | FLOODING | EM | Flood | 2010-03-14 |
| 1829 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-03-24 |
| 1645 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND GROUND SATURATION | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-06-05 |
| 3247 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Coastal Storm | 2005-09-13 |
| 1597 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND GROUND SATURATION | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-07-22 |
| 1515 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND GROUND SATURATION | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-05-05 |
| 1431 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2002-09-10 |
Show 18 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1376 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, & GROUND SATURATION | DR | Flood | 2001-05-28 |
| 1334 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING AND GROUND SATURATION | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-06-27 |
| 1279 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, SNOW, ICE, GROUND SATURATION, LANSLIDES, MUDSLIDES, AND TOR | DR | Flood | 1999-06-08 |
| 1220 | FLOODING, GROUND SATURATION,SEVERE STORMS | DR | Flood | 1998-06-15 |
| 1174 | SEVERE FLOODING,SEVERE WINTER STORMS, SNOWMELT, SPRING RAINS | DR | Flood | 1997-04-07 |
| 1157 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND BLIZZARD CONDITIONS | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-01-12 |
| 1118 | SEVERE STORMS,FLOODING, & ICE JAMS | DR | Severe Storm | 1996-06-05 |
| 1050 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND GROUND SATURATION | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-05-16 |
| 1001 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-07-26 |
| 825 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1989-05-08 |
| 581 | SEVERE STORMS, SNOWMELT & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1979-04-26 |
| 554 | STORMS, ICE JAMS, SNOWMELT & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1978-04-17 |
| 475 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1975-07-11 |
| 434 | HEAVY RAINS, SNOWMELT & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-05-14 |
| 287 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1970-06-05 |
| 256 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-04-18 |
| 216 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1966-03-23 |
| 195 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1965-05-10 |
Storm Events in North Dakota
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Pembina County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 2,705 | 0 | 2 | $116.1M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2,459 | 2 | 10 | $67.0M |
| High Wind | 1,184 | 1 | 1 | $2.9M |
| Heavy Snow | 925 | 0 | 3 | $650.0K |
| Blizzard | 905 | 2 | 2 | $60.0M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
610
Total Paid
$3.7M
Avg Per Claim
$6.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 20.9/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$6.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Drought Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Heat Wave Very 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: Winter Weather
Winter Weather in the model means the accumulation of snow and cold that disrupts rather than destroys: road closures, roof loads, burst pipes and lost heating. Its costs land heavily on transport and on households least able to absorb an interruption.
Worth noting for Pembina County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Winter Weather carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), 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
Pembina County's closest FEMA peer: Lamoille County, VT
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Pembina County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Pembina County shows 38 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
Similar Major-disaster share
Pembina County: 33 of 38 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Pembina County: NRI composite 20.9 (Very 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 Pembina County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Pembina County's NFIP claims file (610 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 Pembina County?
The most common disaster type in Pembina County is Flood, with 24 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (11), Biological (2), Coastal Storm (1).
How does Pembina County's FEMA declaration record compare with the North Dakota average?
FEMA lists 38 declaration records for Pembina County. That is 47% above the North Dakota county mean of 25.9. Its count is also 83% 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 Pembina County received?
Pembina County has received 33 major disaster declarations, representing 87% of all 38 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Pembina County filed?
Pembina County has 610 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $3.7M in payments, with an average of $6.1K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Pembina County?
No. In Pembina County, Winter Weather has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $2.9M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Pembina County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Pembina County was 2013, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2023.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Pembina County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Pembina County, North Dakota has an overall risk score of 20.9 out of 100 (Very Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Moderate, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $6.4M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Pembina County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Pembina County is Winter Weather (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Ice Storm (Relatively Moderate) and Cold Wave (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts winter weather here at an average of 22 times per year, drawn from 421 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 Pembina County
Pembina County, ND has 38 federal declaration records, 47% more than the North Dakota county mean of 26; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 33 of 38 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. North Dakota overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the North Dakota mean and the totals for 95% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- The large NFIP claims file and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records; the guide explains where they overlap and where they do not. 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.