FEMA Records
28
High volume
Texas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Refugio County, TX
28 FEMA disaster declarations (1967-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 28
- FEMA declarations
- 17
- Major disasters
- 37
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Refugio County. Its 28 FEMA declarations are 34% above the Texas county mean and exceed the count for 81% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it safer than 37%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Safer than 37%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 28
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 122
- 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 48391 · Refugio County 28 declarations · rank 561/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 28
- MAJOR-MID 61%
- RANK-MID #561
- PHOTO-FINISH Loíza
- NRI-LOW Very Low
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +34%
Nearest declaration peer: Loíza, PR (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Texas state profile
Refugio County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Refugio County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Hertford · near 28
Hertford · near
28 declarations
- Loíza · near 28
Loíza · near
28 declarations
- Maunabo · near 28
Maunabo · near
28 declarations
- Refugio · this county 28
Refugio · this county
28 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Refugio County carries 28 FEMA declaration records, ranked 561 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Refugio County ranks in the national declaration registry
Refugio County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Refugio County
28 Top 19% higher than 81% 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
Refugio County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does Refugio County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 122 paid claims, totaling $2.0M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $16.0K 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. Refugio County's 28 federal records stand 34% 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
FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 37.5/100 for this county (Very Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Very Low (roughly $7.9M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Very High) and community resilience (Relatively Low) both factor into how that raw exposure plays out on the ground. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Hurricane carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 7 years here, based on 48 historical events on record.
67 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Refugio 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
20/30
28 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
17/25
28 declarations (1.3x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
17 of 28 declarations are major disasters (61%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Refugio County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Refugio 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
61%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
37
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Refugio 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 7 years |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 59 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.7 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 192 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Very Low | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 10 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 52 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 14 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 3,115 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 15
Flood 4
Severe Storm 3
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Fire 2
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Refugio County's federal record, 54% of its declarations. Atlantic tropical systems run on a defined season, 1 June to 30 November, with most activity concentrated between August and October; Pacific and territorial basins run on their own calendars. A single named storm routinely produces one declaration number covering a long corridor of counties at once, well inland as well as on the coast, which is why an affected county's count can jump by several in one year without several separate events having occurred.
One practical distinction matters when reading these records: a tropical declaration usually bundles wind, storm surge and inland rainfall flooding under a single incident, but the insurance behind them is split. Wind damage falls to property insurers, while flood and surge damage is covered only under a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy. That is why a county can show heavy declaration activity and a comparatively small NFIP claims record, or the reverse.
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 - 17 60.7%
of all 28 declarations
Emergency - 11 39.3%
of all 28 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 4 | |
| 2007 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1971 | 1 | |
Show 3 earlier declaration years
| 1970 | 1 | |
| 1968 | 1 | |
| 1967 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 28 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 28 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4798 | HURRICANE BERYL | DR | Hurricane | 2024-07-09 |
| 4586 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-19 |
| 3554 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-14 |
| 3540 | TROPICAL STORMS MARCO AND LAURA | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-24 |
| 3530 | HURRICANE HANNA | EM | Hurricane | 2020-07-26 |
| 4485 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3458 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4332 | HURRICANE HARVEY | DR | Hurricane | 2017-08-25 |
| 4223 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-05-29 |
| 3313 | TROPICAL STORM ALEX | EM | Hurricane | 2010-06-29 |
| 3294 | HURRICANE IKE | EM | Hurricane | 2008-09-10 |
| 3290 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM | Hurricane | 2008-08-29 |
| 1780 | HURRICANE DOLLY | DR | Hurricane | 2008-07-24 |
| 3284 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2008-03-14 |
| 3277 | HURRICANE DEAN | EM | Hurricane | 2007-08-18 |
| 1709 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-06-29 |
| 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 |
Show 8 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1479 | HURRICANE CLAUDETTE | DR | Hurricane | 2003-07-17 |
| 1257 | TX-FLOODING 10/18/98 | DR | Flood | 1998-10-21 |
| 1239 | TROPICAL STORM CHARLEY | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-08-26 |
| 930 | SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS | DR | Flood | 1991-12-26 |
| 313 | HEAVY RAINS, HIGH WINDS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1971-09-18 |
| 292 | HURRICANE CELIA | DR | Hurricane | 1970-08-04 |
| 246 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH WINDS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1968-07-05 |
| 232 | HURRICANE BEULAH | DR | Hurricane | 1967-09-28 |
Storm Events in Texas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Refugio 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
122
Total Paid
$2.0M
Avg Per Claim
$16.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 37.5/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$7.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Very Low
Coastal Flooding Very Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Hail Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Winter Weather 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: Hurricane
Hurricane exposure in the model bundles the three ways a tropical system does harm, which arrive on different timescales and are insured differently: wind, storm surge on the coast, and rainfall flooding that can reach far inland well after landfall.
For Refugio County the two measures on this page point the same way: Hurricane is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively Moderate), and Hurricane declarations also lead its federal record. Where the model and the declaration history agree, the reading is comparatively straightforward, the hazard is both expected and repeatedly realised.
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
Refugio County's closest FEMA peer: Lewis County, NY
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Refugio County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Refugio County shows 28 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Refugio County: 17 of 28 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Refugio County: NRI composite 37.5 (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 Refugio County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Refugio 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: 37.5 (Very Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 28. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Refugio County's NFIP claims file (122 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 Refugio County?
The most common disaster type in Refugio County is Hurricane, with 15 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (4), Severe Storm (3), Severe Ice Storm (2).
How does Refugio County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Texas average?
FEMA lists 28 declaration records for Refugio County. That is 34% above the Texas county mean of 20.9. Its count is also 35% 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 Refugio County received?
Refugio County has received 17 major disaster declarations, representing 61% of all 28 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Refugio County filed?
Refugio County has 122 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $2.0M in payments, with an average of $16.0K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Refugio County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Refugio County was 2008, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1967 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Refugio County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Refugio County, Texas has an overall risk score of 37.5 out of 100 (Very Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Very High and community resilience is Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $7.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Refugio County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Refugio County as of the latest release is Hurricane (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Drought (Relatively Moderate) and Cold Wave (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hurricane here at roughly once every 7 years, drawn from 48 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Refugio County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Texas profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events