FEMA Records
30
High volume
New York · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Rockland County, NY
30 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2023), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 30
- FEMA declarations
- 19
- Major disasters
- 88
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Rockland County. Its 30 FEMA declarations are 22% above the New York county mean and exceed the count for 86% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 12%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 12%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 30
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 3,476
- 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 36087 · Rockland County 30 declarations · rank 404/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-MID · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 30
- MAJOR-MID 63%
- RANK-MID #404
- PHOTO-FINISH Jefferson
- NRI-MID 88
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +22%
Nearest declaration peer: Jefferson, OK (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · New York state profile
Rockland County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Rockland County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Clallam · near 30
Clallam · near
30 declarations
- Jefferson · near 30
Jefferson · near
30 declarations
- Latimer · near 30
Latimer · near
30 declarations
- Rockland · this county 30
Rockland · this county
30 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Rockland County carries 30 FEMA declaration records, ranked 404 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Rockland County ranks in the national declaration registry
Rockland County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Rockland County
30 Top 14% higher than 86% 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
Rockland County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Rockland County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $38.0M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Strong Wind 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 Rockland County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 3,476 claims and $45.4M in payments. PlainHazard labels 500 or more claims a heavy registry record; that is a reporting bucket, not an official FEMA risk grade. The average paid claim was $13.1K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Rockland County's 30 federal records stand 22% above the New York county mean of 24.5. 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.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 88.4/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $60.5M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively High and community resilience Relatively High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Strong Wind stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 5.1 times per year here, based on 192 historical events on record.
73 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Rockland County, NY · 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
22/30
30 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
15/25
30 declarations (1.2x state county average of 25)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
19 of 30 declarations are major disasters (63%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Rockland County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Rockland 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
88
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Rockland 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 5.1 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 13 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.9 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 30 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 6.2 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 602 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 9 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 16 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 5 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 0.8 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 2.3 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 14,335 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 11
Severe Storm 5
Flood 5
Snowstorm 3
Biological 2
Other 2
Fire 1
Drought 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Rockland County's federal record, 37% 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 - 19 63.3%
of all 30 declarations
Emergency - 11 36.7%
of all 30 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 4 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 3 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 2 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
Show 4 earlier declaration years
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
| 1971 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 30 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 30 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4723 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-07-22 |
| 4615 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR | Hurricane | 2021-09-05 |
| 3572 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | EM | Hurricane | 2021-09-02 |
| 3565 | HURRICANE HENRI | EM | Hurricane | 2021-08-22 |
| 4567 | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | DR | Hurricane | 2020-10-02 |
| 4480 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-20 |
| 3434 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4085 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-10-30 |
| 3351 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-28 |
| 4020 | HURRICANE IRENE | DR | Hurricane | 2011-08-31 |
| 3328 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-26 |
| 1957 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-02-18 |
| 1899 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-04-16 |
| 1692 | SEVERE STORMS AND INLAND AND COASTAL FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-04-24 |
| 3262 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-30 |
| 1534 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-08-03 |
| 3186 | POWER OUTAGE | EM | Other | 2003-08-23 |
| 3184 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-03-27 |
| 1391 | FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS | DR | Fire | 2001-09-11 |
| 3155 | WEST NILE VIRUS | EM | Other | 2000-10-11 |
Show 10 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1296 | HURRICANE FLOYD MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATIONS | DR | Hurricane | 1999-09-19 |
| 3149 | HURRICANE FLOYD EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS | EM | Hurricane | 1999-09-18 |
| 1083 | BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM) | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-12 |
| 3107 | SEVERE BLIZZARD | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-17 |
| 974 | COASTAL STORM, HIGH TIDES, HEAVY RAIN, & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1992-12-21 |
| 702 | COASTAL STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1984-04-17 |
| 487 | STORMS, RAINS, LANDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1975-10-02 |
| 338 | TROPICAL STORM AGNES | DR | Flood | 1972-06-23 |
| 311 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1971-09-13 |
| 204 | WATER SHORTAGE | DR | Drought | 1965-08-18 |
Storm Events in New York
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Rockland County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 8,295 | 6 | 45 | $45.0M |
| Winter Weather | 2,261 | 7 | 17 | $705.5K |
| Flash Flood | 1,775 | 23 | 3 | $674.3M |
| Strong Wind | 1,399 | 2 | 12 | $9.2M |
| Winter Storm | 1,228 | 13 | 2 | $4.9M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
3,476
Total Paid
$45.4M
Avg Per Claim
$13.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 88.4/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$60.5M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Strong Wind Relatively High
Winter Weather Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Coastal Flooding Relatively Moderate
Landslide Very Low
Avalanche Very Low
Drought Very Low
Hail Very Low
Wildfire 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: Strong Wind
Strong Wind covers damaging non-thunderstorm, non-tornadic wind, the kind produced by steep pressure gradients and downslope events. It is a broad, frequent, low-drama hazard: roofs, signage, power lines and high-profile vehicles, spread across a wide area rather than concentrated on a path.
Worth noting for Rockland County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Strong Wind carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Hurricane. 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
Rockland County's closest FEMA peer: St. Clair County, AL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Rockland County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Rockland County shows 30 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Rockland County: 19 of 30 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Rockland County: NRI composite 88.4 (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 Rockland County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Rockland 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: 88.4 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 30. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Rockland County's NFIP claims file (3,476 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 Rockland County?
The most common disaster type in Rockland County is Hurricane, with 11 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (5), Flood (5), Snowstorm (3).
How does Rockland County's FEMA declaration record compare with the New York average?
FEMA lists 30 declaration records for Rockland County. That is 22% above the New York county mean of 24.5. Its count is also 45% 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 Rockland County received?
Rockland County has received 19 major disaster declarations, representing 63% of all 30 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Rockland County filed?
Rockland County has 3,476 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $45.4M in payments, with an average of $13.1K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Rockland County?
No. In Rockland County, Strong Wind has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $38.0M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Rockland County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Rockland County was 2021, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2023.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Rockland County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Rockland County, New York has an overall risk score of 88.4 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively High; on community resilience, Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $60.5M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Rockland County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Rockland County is Strong Wind (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Winter Weather (Relatively High) and Riverine Flooding (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts strong wind here at an average of 5.1 times per year, drawn from 192 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Rockland County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · New York profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events