FEMA Records
10
Low volume
Wisconsin · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Polk County, WI
10 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Tornado.
- 10
- FEMA declarations
- 6
- Major disasters
- 63
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Tornado
- Top hazard
The verdict
Polk County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 10 declarations, more than 10% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 19% below the Wisconsin county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 37%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 37%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 10
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 15
- 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 Polk County compare?
Polk County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
10 10th percentile higher than 10% 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
Polk County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Wisconsin county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Polk County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $7.7M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Cold Wave 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 Polk County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 63.3/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $23.0M in annualized losses), and a Relatively Low social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively Moderate community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Cold Wave stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 9.5 times per year here, based on 180 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
Nationally, Polk County's 10 FEMA records form a high-volume history; within Wisconsin, however, the count is 19% below the county mean. 6 entries carry the Major Disaster classification. The largest incident group is Tornado, appearing 2 times. The full 55-year record averages 0.2 declarations annually. A DR label alone does not say whether Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both followed.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 15 claims and $104.7K 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 Wisconsin county averages 12.3 federal declaration records, while Polk County has 10. The gap is 19% 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.
47 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Polk County, WI · 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
7/30
10 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.5x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
10/25
10 declarations (0.8x state county average of 12)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
6 of 10 declarations are major disasters (60%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Polk County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Wisconsin Avg
-19%
State avg: 12.3
vs. National Avg
-52%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.2
Over 55 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Polk 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
60%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
63
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Polk 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | an average of 9.5 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 3.2 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 4.5 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 33 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 2 modeled event-days per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 17 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 6,112 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 2.3 modeled event-days per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 4,016 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Biological 2
Flood 2
Tornado 2
Severe Storm 2
Hurricane 1
Drought 1
What Tornado declarations mean here
Tornado is the most frequent declaration type on Polk County's record, 20% of its declarations, which is unusual: most counties file tornado damage under the broader Severe Storm category, so a tornado-led record generally means one or more damage paths severe enough to be named in their own right. Tornado damage is the most spatially concentrated of any hazard class here - total destruction along a narrow corridor with undamaged property either side, so county-level totals understate how severe the local impact was for the households actually in the path.
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 - 6 60.0%
of all 10 declarations
Emergency - 4 40.0%
of all 10 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 10 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 10 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4520 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-04 |
| 3454 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4459 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2019-08-27 |
| 3249 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1432 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 2002-09-10 |
| 1369 | FLOODING, SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Flood | 2001-05-11 |
| 1332 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-06-24 |
| 3048 | WINDS, HAIL & RAIN | EM | Severe Storm | 1977-10-03 |
| 3014 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1976-06-17 |
| 192 | TORNADOES, SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 1965-04-21 |
Storm Events in Wisconsin
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Polk County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 3,504 | 5 | 23 | $45.0M |
| Hail | 2,620 | 0 | 0 | $57.8M |
| Winter Weather | 1,939 | 43 | 152 | $2.1M |
| Winter Storm | 1,338 | 15 | 86 | $2.3M |
| Flood | 740 | 12 | 4 | $115.6M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
15
Total Paid
$104.7K
Avg Per Claim
$7.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 63.3/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$23.0M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Cold Wave Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Hail Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Drought Very Low
Landslide 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: Cold Wave
Cold Wave measures exposure to extreme cold rather than to snow. Its harm is concentrated in health effects, burst infrastructure and energy demand spikes, and it falls hardest where the building stock and the grid were not built with sustained cold in mind.
Worth noting for Polk County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Cold Wave carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Tornado. 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
Polk County's closest FEMA peer: Cherokee County, AL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Polk County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Polk County: NRI composite 63.3 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Polk County: 6 of 10 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Polk County shows 10 FEMA declarations, led by Tornado.
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 Polk County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 10 FEMA declarations, Polk County sits in the high-volume declaration band - see how that count ranks against other U.S. counties.
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 Polk County?
The most common disaster type in Polk County is Tornado, with 2 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Flood (2), Severe Storm (2).
How does Polk County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Wisconsin average?
The typical Wisconsin county has 12.3 FEMA declaration records; Polk County has 10, or 19% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 52% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Polk County received?
Polk County has received 6 major disaster declarations, representing 60% of all 10 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Polk County filed?
Polk County has 15 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $104.7K in payments, with an average of $7.0K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Polk County?
No. In Polk County, Cold Wave has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $7.7M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Polk County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Polk 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 Polk County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Polk County, Wisconsin has an overall risk score of 63.3 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Low and community resilience is Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $23.0M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Polk County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Polk County as of the latest release is Cold Wave (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Strong Wind (Relatively High) and Hail (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts cold wave here at an average of 9.5 times per year, drawn from 180 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.
What this means for Polk County
Against a Wisconsin county mean of 12 declarations, Polk County, WI records 10, or 19% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as high activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (6 of 10) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Wisconsin overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 10% of recorded county totals, but its own Wisconsin 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.