FEMA Records
25
High volume
North Dakota · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Rolette County, ND
25 FEMA disaster declarations (1969-2022), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 25
- FEMA declarations
- 23
- Major disasters
- 53
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Rolette County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 25 declarations, more than 71% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 3% below the North Dakota county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 47%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 47%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 25
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 4
- 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 Rolette County compare?
Rolette County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
25 Top 29% higher than 71% 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
Rolette County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the North Dakota county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Rolette County is led by Cold Wave (about $3.9M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), 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 Rolette County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 52.9/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Very Low (roughly $10.7M in annualized losses), and a Very High social-vulnerability profile combined with Very Low community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. 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 370 years here.
Declaration frequency
Nationally, Rolette County's 25 FEMA records form a high-volume history; within North Dakota, however, the count is 3% below the county mean. 23 entries carry the Major Disaster classification. The largest incident group is Flood, appearing 13 times. The full 53-year record averages 0.5 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: 4 claims and $58.5K 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 North Dakota county averages 25.9 federal declaration records, while Rolette County has 25. The gap is 3% 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.
66 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Rolette County, ND · 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
18/30
25 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.2x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
12/25
25 declarations (1.0x state county average of 26)
Major Disaster Share Very High
23/25
23 of 25 declarations are major disasters (92%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Rolette County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. North Dakota Avg
-3%
State avg: 25.9
vs. National Avg
+21%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.5
Over 53 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Rolette 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
92%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
53
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Rolette 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 370 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 20 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 23 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 1.7 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 12 modeled event-days per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 26 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 12,048 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 0.5 modeled event-days per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 13
Severe Storm 8
Biological 2
Snowstorm 1
Coastal Storm 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Rolette County's record, 52% of its declarations. Federal flood declarations cover two mechanisms that behave very differently: riverine flooding, which builds over days as a watershed drains and is usually forecast well in advance, and flash flooding, which can arrive in under an hour from rainfall that fell somewhere upstream.
Flood is also the one hazard class where a second federal dataset exists for the same events. The National Flood Insurance Program records what was actually paid on insured losses, so it measures a narrower thing than the declaration count: uninsured damage, and flooding outside mapped special flood hazard areas, never enters it. Reading the two together is more informative than either alone.
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 - 23 92.0%
of all 25 declarations
Emergency - 2 8.0%
of all 25 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 2 | |
| 1995 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 1 | |
Show 6 earlier declaration years
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1975 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 25 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 25 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4660 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2022-07-13 |
| 4509 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-01 |
| 3477 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4323 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2017-07-12 |
| 4118 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2013-05-29 |
| 1981 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2011-05-10 |
| 1829 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-03-24 |
| 1645 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND GROUND SATURATION | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-06-05 |
| 1616 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND RECORD AND/OR NEAR RECORD SNOW | DR | Snowstorm | 2005-11-21 |
| 3247 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Coastal Storm | 2005-09-13 |
| 1597 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND GROUND SATURATION | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-07-22 |
| 1376 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, & GROUND SATURATION | DR | Flood | 2001-05-28 |
| 1334 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING AND GROUND SATURATION | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-06-27 |
| 1279 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, SNOW, ICE, GROUND SATURATION, LANSLIDES, MUDSLIDES, AND TOR | DR | Flood | 1999-06-08 |
| 1220 | FLOODING, GROUND SATURATION,SEVERE STORMS | DR | Flood | 1998-06-15 |
| 1174 | SEVERE FLOODING,SEVERE WINTER STORMS, SNOWMELT, SPRING RAINS | DR | Flood | 1997-04-07 |
| 1157 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND BLIZZARD CONDITIONS | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-01-12 |
| 1050 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND GROUND SATURATION | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-05-16 |
| 1032 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1994-07-01 |
| 1001 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-07-26 |
Show 5 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 581 | SEVERE STORMS, SNOWMELT & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1979-04-26 |
| 501 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1976-04-16 |
| 469 | FLOODING FROM RAINS & SNOWMELT | DR | Flood | 1975-05-24 |
| 434 | HEAVY RAINS, SNOWMELT & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-05-14 |
| 256 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-04-18 |
Storm Events in North Dakota
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Rolette County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 2,705 | 0 | 2 | $116.1M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2,459 | 2 | 10 | $67.0M |
| High Wind | 1,184 | 1 | 1 | $2.9M |
| Heavy Snow | 925 | 0 | 3 | $650.0K |
| Blizzard | 905 | 2 | 2 | $60.0M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
4
Total Paid
$58.5K
Avg Per Claim
$14.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 52.9/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$10.7M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively High
Ice Storm Relatively High
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Drought Very Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Heat Wave 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: 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.
Worth noting for Rolette County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Wildfire carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), while the county's declaration history is led by Flood. 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
Rolette County's closest FEMA peer: Buchanan County, IA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Rolette County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Rolette County shows 25 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
Similar Major-disaster share
Rolette County: 23 of 25 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Rolette County: NRI composite 52.9 (Relatively 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 Rolette County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 25 FEMA declarations, Rolette 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 Rolette County?
The most common disaster type in Rolette County is Flood, with 13 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (8), Biological (2), Snowstorm (1).
How does Rolette County's FEMA declaration record compare with the North Dakota average?
The typical North Dakota county has 25.9 FEMA declaration records; Rolette County has 25, or 3% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 21% higher. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Rolette County received?
Rolette County has received 23 major disaster declarations, representing 92% of all 25 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Rolette County filed?
Rolette County has 4 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $58.5K in payments, with an average of $14.6K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Rolette County?
No. In Rolette County, Wildfire has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Cold Wave leads Expected Annual Loss at about $3.9M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Rolette County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Rolette County was 1997, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1969 to 2022.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Rolette County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Rolette County, North Dakota has an overall risk score of 52.9 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Very High; on community resilience, Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $10.7M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Rolette County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Rolette County is Wildfire (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Winter Weather (Relatively High) and Ice Storm (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts wildfire here at roughly once every 370 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.
What this means for Rolette County
Against a North Dakota county mean of 26 declarations, Rolette County, ND records 25, or 3% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as high activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (23 of 25) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. North Dakota overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 71% of recorded county totals, but its own North Dakota 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.