FEMA Records
20
Above median
Texas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Potter County, TX
20 FEMA disaster declarations (1989-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Fire.
- 20
- FEMA declarations
- 8
- Major disasters
- 90
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Fire
- Top hazard
The verdict
Potter County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 20 declarations, more than 46% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 4% below the Texas county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 10%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 10%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 20
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 387
- 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 48375 · Potter County 20 declarations · rank 1601/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-LIGHT · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-MID · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-HEAVY 20
- MAJOR-LIGHT 40%
- RANK-LOWER #1,601
- PHOTO-FINISH Monona
- NRI-MID 90
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Fire
- VS-ST-BELOW -4%
Nearest declaration peer: Monona, IA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Texas state profile
Potter County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Potter County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Cleveland · near 20
Cleveland · near
20 declarations
- Monona · near 20
Monona · near
20 declarations
- Potter · this county 20
Potter · this county
20 declarations
- Tallapoosa · near 20
Tallapoosa · near
20 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Potter County carries 20 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1601 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Potter County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Potter County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Potter County
20 46th percentile higher than 46% 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
Potter County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Potter County is led by Hail (about $20.2M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Winter Weather 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 Potter County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 387 paid claims, totaling $5.4M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $14.0K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
Start with the state benchmark: a Texas county averages 20.9 federal declaration records, while Potter County has 20. The gap is 4% 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.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 90.5/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $63.4M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively High and community resilience Relatively Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Winter Weather stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 11 times per year here, based on 204 historical events on record.
49 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Potter 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) Moderate
14/30
20 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.0x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
12/25
20 declarations (1.0x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share Moderate
10/25
8 of 20 declarations are major disasters (40%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Potter County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Potter 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
40%
Mixed major share
NRI risk score
90
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Potter 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 | Very High | an average of 11 times per year |
| Hail | Very High | an average of 8.4 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 3.2 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively High | 102 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 132 years |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 49 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | an average of 2.5 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1,013 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 3 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 2 modeled event-days per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 2 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Fire 8
Hurricane 5
Severe Ice Storm 3
Biological 2
Severe Storm 2
What Fire declarations mean here
Fire is the most frequent declaration type on Potter County's record, 40% 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 - 8 40.0%
of all 20 declarations
Emergency - 8 40.0%
of all 20 declarations
Fire Management - 4 20.0%
of all 20 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 4 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 20 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 20 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5634 | STINKY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2026-05-18 |
| 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 |
| 1999 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2011-07-01 |
| 2913 | STONE RIDGE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-05-29 |
| 2862 | WILLOW CREEK SOUTH FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2011-02-27 |
| 3294 | HURRICANE IKE | EM | Hurricane | 2008-09-10 |
| 3290 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM | Hurricane | 2008-08-29 |
| 3284 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2008-03-14 |
| 2743 | BROADWAY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2008-02-13 |
| 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 |
| 1356 | SEVERE WINTER ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2001-01-08 |
| 3142 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARDS | EM | Fire | 1999-09-01 |
| 1239 | TROPICAL STORM CHARLEY | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-08-26 |
| 828 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1989-05-19 |
Storm Events in Texas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Potter 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
387
Total Paid
$5.4M
Avg Per Claim
$14.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 90.5/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$63.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Winter Weather Very High
Hail Very High
Tornado Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Drought Relatively High
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively High
Cold Wave Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Hurricane 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: 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 Potter County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Winter Weather carries the highest modeled rating (Very High), 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
Potter County's closest FEMA peer: Richmond County, NC
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Potter County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Potter County shows 20 FEMA declarations, led by Fire.
Similar Major-disaster share
Potter County: 8 of 20 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Potter County: NRI composite 90.5 (Relatively Moderate).
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 Potter County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Potter 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: 90.5 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 20. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Potter County's NFIP claims file (387 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 Potter County?
The most common disaster type in Potter County is Fire, with 8 declarations. Other disaster types include Hurricane (5), Severe Ice Storm (3), Biological (2).
How does Potter County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Texas average?
The typical Texas county has 20.9 FEMA declaration records; Potter County has 20, or 4% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 3% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Potter County received?
Potter County has received 8 major disaster declarations, representing 40% of all 20 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Potter County filed?
Potter County has 387 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $5.4M in payments, with an average of $14.0K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Potter County?
No. In Potter County, Winter Weather has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Hail leads Expected Annual Loss at about $20.2M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Potter County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Potter County was 2008, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1989 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Potter County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Potter County, Texas has an overall risk score of 90.5 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively High, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $63.4M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Potter County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Potter County as of the latest release is Winter Weather (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Hail (Very High) and Tornado (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts winter weather here at an average of 11 times per year, drawn from 204 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 Potter County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Texas profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events