FEMA Records
16
Below median
New Mexico · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Rio Arriba County, NM
16 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Fire.
- 16
- FEMA declarations
- 10
- Major disasters
- 81
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Fire
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Rio Arriba County. Its 16 FEMA declarations are 28% above the New Mexico county mean and exceed the count for 27% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 19%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 19%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 16
- 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 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 35039 · Rio Arriba County 16 declarations · rank 2266/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-MID 16
- MAJOR-MID 63%
- RANK-LOWER #2,266
- PHOTO-FINISH Greene
- NRI-LOW 81
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Fire
- VS-ST-ABOVE +28%
Nearest declaration peer: Greene, GA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · New Mexico state profile
Rio Arriba County among counties with fewer federal records
FEMA declaration records among Rio Arriba County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Frontier · near 16
Frontier · near
16 declarations
- Greene · near 16
Greene · near
16 declarations
- Rio Arriba · this county 16
Rio Arriba · this county
16 declarations
- Terrell · near 16
Terrell · near
16 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Rio Arriba County carries 16 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2266 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Rio Arriba County versus quieter counties in this dataset
Rio Arriba County among lower-declaration counties nationally
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Rio Arriba County
16 27th percentile higher than 27% 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
Rio Arriba County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Rio Arriba County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $20.3M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Wildfire 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 Rio Arriba County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 80.5/100 (Relatively Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Low (roughly $26.5M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Very High and community resilience Very Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Wildfire carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 337 years here.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 31 claims and $329.4K 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.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Rio Arriba County's 16 federal records stand 28% above the New Mexico county mean of 12.5. 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.
59 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Rio Arriba County, NM · 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
12/30
16 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.8x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
16/25
16 declarations (1.3x state county average of 12)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
10 of 16 declarations are major disasters (63%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Rio Arriba County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Rio Arriba 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
63%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
81
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Rio Arriba 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 337 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.6 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 65 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 454 years |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 106 modeled event-days per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 24 times per year |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 19 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 0.2 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 13 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 67 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Fire 5
Severe Storm 4
Flood 3
Biological 2
Hurricane 1
Drought 1
What Fire declarations mean here
Fire is the most frequent declaration type on Rio Arriba County's record, 31% 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 - 10 62.5%
of all 16 declarations
Emergency - 4 25.0%
of all 16 declarations
Fire Management - 2 12.5%
of all 16 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 16 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 16 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4795 | SOUTH FORK FIRE, SALT FIRE, AND FLOODING | DR | Fire | 2024-06-20 |
| 4529 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-05 |
| 3460 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4197 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2014-10-06 |
| 4152 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2013-10-29 |
| 2933 | LAS CONCHAS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-06-26 |
| 1962 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND EXTREME COLD TEMPERATURES | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-03-24 |
| 1659 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-08-30 |
| 3229 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-07 |
| 2408 | NM - BORREGO FIRE - 5-23-02 | FM | Fire | 2002-05-23 |
| 1329 | SEVERE FOREST FIRE | DR | Fire | 2000-05-13 |
| 3154 | SEVERE FIRE THREATS | EM | Fire | 2000-05-10 |
| 1301 | SEVERE ICE STORMS, FLOODING AND HEAVY RAINS | DR | Severe Storm | 1999-09-22 |
| 589 | SEVERE STORMS, SNOWMELT & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1979-06-23 |
| 3034 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-03-02 |
| 380 | SEVERE STORMS, SNOW MELT & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-05-11 |
Storm Events in New Mexico
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Rio Arriba County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drought | 3,382 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| High Wind | 2,351 | 0 | 3 | $18.9M |
| Hail | 1,669 | 1 | 24 | $17.2M |
| Heavy Snow | 986 | 6 | 72 | $2.5M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 952 | 1 | 13 | $25.1M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
31
Total Paid
$329.4K
Avg Per Claim
$10.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 80.5/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$26.5M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Avalanche Very Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Hail Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Volcanic Activity 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: Wildfire
Wildfire risk in the model reflects fuel, terrain, weather and how much development sits in the wildland-urban interface. It is one of the few hazards where the exposure is materially changed by land management and building choices, not only by where the county happens to be.
For Rio Arriba County the two measures on this page point the same way: Wildfire is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively Moderate), and Fire 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
Rio Arriba County's closest FEMA peer: La Crosse County, WI
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Rio Arriba County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Rio Arriba County: NRI composite 80.5 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Rio Arriba County: 10 of 16 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Rio Arriba County shows 16 FEMA declarations, led by Fire.
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 Rio Arriba County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Rio Arriba 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: 80.5 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 16. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 16 FEMA declarations, Rio Arriba 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).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Rio Arriba County?
The most common disaster type in Rio Arriba County is Fire, with 5 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (4), Flood (3), Biological (2).
How does Rio Arriba County's FEMA declaration record compare with the New Mexico average?
FEMA lists 16 declaration records for Rio Arriba County. That is 28% above the New Mexico county mean of 12.5. Its count is also 23% below 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 Rio Arriba County received?
Rio Arriba County has received 10 major disaster declarations, representing 63% of all 16 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Rio Arriba County filed?
Rio Arriba County has 31 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $329.4K in payments, with an average of $10.6K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Rio Arriba County?
No. In Rio Arriba County, Wildfire has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $20.3M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Rio Arriba County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Rio Arriba County was 2000, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Rio Arriba County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico has an overall risk score of 80.5 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Very High and community resilience is Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $26.5M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Rio Arriba County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Rio Arriba County is Wildfire (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Landslide (Relatively Moderate) and Lightning (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts wildfire here at roughly once every 337 years. 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 Rio Arriba County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · New Mexico profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events