FEMA Records
6
Low volume
Colorado · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Pitkin County, CO
6 FEMA disaster declarations (1977-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Biological.
- 6
- FEMA declarations
- 3
- Major disasters
- 54
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Biological
- Top hazard
The verdict
Start with the local benchmark for Pitkin County: 6 FEMA declaration records are 41% below the Colorado county mean, even though the count is higher than 3% of counties in the national registry. On FEMA's distinct National Risk Index model, which combines expected loss with vulnerability and resilience, the county ranks in the riskiest 46%.
- Riskiest 46%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 6
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 31
- 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 Pitkin County compare?
Pitkin County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
6 3rd percentile higher than 3% 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
Pitkin County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Colorado county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Pitkin County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $12.5M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very High), while Avalanche 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.
What does Pitkin County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 54.1/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $26.4M in annualized losses), and a Very Low social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively High community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Avalanche stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 1.4 times per year here, based on 42 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The state comparison is the clearest context for Pitkin County's moderate federal record. Its 6 declarations sit 41% below the Colorado county mean, with 3 Major Disaster entries among them. 2 records concern Biological, the file's most frequent incident type. Spread across 43 years, the registry rate is 0.1 per year. FEMA reports authorized programs separately from the DR, EM, and FM codes.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 31 claims and $235.6K paid in total. PlainHazard calls 1-49 claims a light registry record, a label for this dataset rather than a finding that flood exposure is low. A short claims history can also reflect insurance take-up, the period covered, or losses that were never insured.
Start with the state benchmark: a Colorado county averages 10.2 federal declaration records, while Pitkin County has 6. The gap is 41% below that mean. Fewer entries indicate a quieter history of recorded federal actions, not immunity from a hazard and not a prediction about what happens next.
37 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Pitkin County, CO · 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) Low
4/30
6 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.3x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
7/25
6 declarations (0.6x state county average of 10)
Major Disaster Share High
13/25
3 of 6 declarations are major disasters (50%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Pitkin County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
Moderate
vs. Colorado Avg
-41%
State avg: 10.2
vs. National Avg
-71%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.1
Over 43 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Pitkin 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
50%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
54
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Pitkin 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Avalanche | Very High | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 724 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 54 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 54 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,266 years |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | roughly once every 10,000 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 55 modeled event-days per year |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 67 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 60 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 10 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 6 years |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | roughly once every 19 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Biological 2
Coastal Storm 1
Fire 1
Flood 1
Drought 1
What Biological declarations mean here
Biological is the most frequent declaration type on Pitkin County's record, 33% of its declarations. In practice this category is dominated by the COVID-19 declarations of 2020, which were issued across every US state and territory rather than in response to any local hazard event.
This has a direct consequence for how Pitkin County's number should be read. Because those declarations reached essentially every county in the country, they raise every county's total by a similar amount and tell you nothing about local hazard exposure. A county whose record is led by Biological declarations is, in most cases, a county with a genuinely quiet weather-hazard history, the pandemic records are simply the largest thing in an otherwise short list.
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 - 3 50.0%
of all 6 declarations
Emergency - 3 50.0%
of all 6 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 6 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 6 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4498 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-28 |
| 3436 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3224 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Coastal Storm | 2005-09-05 |
| 1421 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2002-06-19 |
| 719 | SEVERE STORMS, MUDSLIDES, LANDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1984-07-27 |
| 3025 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-01-29 |
Storm Events in Colorado
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Pitkin County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 4,913 | 0 | 100 | $2.9B |
| Winter Weather | 2,620 | 3 | 23 | $22.5K |
| High Wind | 1,992 | 5 | 6 | $20.9M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 1,741 | 2 | 11 | $5.4M |
| Winter Storm | 1,497 | 0 | 0 | $848.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
31
Total Paid
$235.6K
Avg Per Claim
$7.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 54.1/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$26.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Avalanche Very High
Landslide Relatively High
Wildfire Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Volcanic Activity Very Low
Drought Very Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Hail Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Heat Wave 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: Avalanche
Avalanche is the most geographically restricted hazard in the model, limited to steep terrain holding seasonal snow. Its exposure concentrates on mountain roads, rail corridors and backcountry recreation rather than on the built environment generally.
Worth noting for Pitkin County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Avalanche carries the highest modeled rating (Very High), while the county's declaration history is led by Biological. 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
Pitkin County's closest FEMA peer: Oconto County, WI
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Pitkin County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Pitkin County shows 6 FEMA declarations, led by Biological.
Similar Major-disaster share
Pitkin County: 3 of 6 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Pitkin County: NRI composite 54.1 (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 Pitkin County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
FEMA's National Risk Index flags Avalanche as the top modeled exposure here (Very High); the guide explains how that model differs from declaration counts.
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 Pitkin County?
The most common disaster type in Pitkin County is Biological, with 2 declarations. Other disaster types include Coastal Storm (1), Fire (1), Flood (1).
How does Pitkin County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Colorado average?
The typical Colorado county has 10.2 FEMA declaration records; Pitkin County has 6, or 41% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 71% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Pitkin County received?
Pitkin County has received 3 major disaster declarations, representing 50% of all 6 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Pitkin County filed?
Pitkin County has 31 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $235.6K in payments, with an average of $7.6K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Pitkin County?
No. In Pitkin County, Avalanche has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $12.5M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Pitkin County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Pitkin County was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1977 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Pitkin County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Pitkin County, Colorado has an overall risk score of 54.1 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Very Low; on community resilience, Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $26.4M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Pitkin County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Pitkin County is Avalanche (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Landslide (Relatively High) and Wildfire (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts avalanche here at an average of 1.4 times per year, drawn from 42 historical events on record. The underlying methodology weighs historical event frequency against 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 Pitkin County
Against a Colorado county mean of 10 declarations, Pitkin County, CO records 6, or 41% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as moderate activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (3 of 6) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Colorado overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 3% of recorded county totals, but its own Colorado benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. Most-disaster rankings
- A short NFIP claims file cannot establish low flood exposure; the data guide explains the limits of each federal measure. Disaster-data guide
A below-average federal record is not a safety guarantee. Use National Weather Service alerts and local emergency-management notices for present conditions, not this historical comparison.
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.