FEMA Records
61
Very high volume
California · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
San Bernardino County, CA
61 FEMA disaster declarations (1966-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very High. Most common hazard: Fire.
- 61
- FEMA declarations
- 30
- Major disasters
- 100
- NRI risk · Very High
- Fire
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for San Bernardino County. Its 61 FEMA declarations are 114% above the California county mean and exceed the count for 99% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 1%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 1%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 61
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 864
- 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 06071 · San Bernardino County 61 declarations · rank 3/3,266
DECL-MEGA · MAJOR-LIGHT · RANK-TOP · CLEAR-PEER · NRI-HIGH · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-HIGH
- DECL-MEGA 61
- MAJOR-LIGHT 49%
- RANK-TOP #3
- CLEAR-PEER Ascension
- NRI-HIGH Very High
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Fire
- VS-ST-HIGH +114%
Nearest declaration peer: Ascension, LA (3 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · California state profile
San Bernardino County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among San Bernardino County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Riverside · near
Riverside · near
66 declarations
- San Bernardino · this county
San Bernardino · this county
61 declarations
- Ascension · near
Ascension · near
58 declarations
- St. Martin · near
St. Martin · near
54 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows San Bernardino County carries 61 FEMA declaration records, ranked 3 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where San Bernardino County ranks in the national declaration registry
San Bernardino County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · San Bernardino County
61 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
San Bernardino County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for San Bernardino County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $959.6M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very High), while Landslide 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 San Bernardino County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 864 claims and $10.2M 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 $11.9K. 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. San Bernardino County's 61 federal records stand 114% above the California county mean of 28.5. 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 99.8/100 (Very High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Very High (roughly $2.1B in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Low and community resilience Relatively Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Landslide stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 28 times per year here.
87 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
San Bernardino County, CA · 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) Very High
30/30
61 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.9x national county average)
County Disaster Density Very High
25/25
61 declarations (2.1x state county average of 29)
Major Disaster Share Moderate
12/25
30 of 61 declarations are major disasters (49%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in San Bernardino County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - San Bernardino 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
49%
Mixed major share
NRI risk score
100
Very High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike San Bernardino 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Landslide | Very High | an average of 28 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very High | roughly once every 106 years |
| Earthquake | Very High | roughly once every 9 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Very High | an average of 13 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively High | 12 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | roughly once every 6 years |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 17 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 14 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Avalanche | Relatively Low | roughly once every 15 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 2.1 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 78 modeled event-days per year |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | roughly once every 3,333 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 79 years |
| Hurricane | No Rating | roughly once every 765 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Fire 33
Flood 13
Severe Storm 7
Biological 2
Earthquake 2
Freezing 2
Hurricane 1
Coastal Storm 1
What Fire declarations mean here
Fire is the most frequent declaration type on San Bernardino County's record, 54% 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 - 30 49.2%
of all 61 declarations
Fire Management - 24 39.3%
of all 61 declarations
Emergency - 7 11.5%
of all 61 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 3 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 5 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 3 | |
| 2007 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2004 | 3 | |
Show 19 earlier declaration years
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 3 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 2 | |
| 1994 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 2 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 3 | |
| 1981 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
| 1967 | 1 | |
| 1966 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 61 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 61 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5537 | BRIDGE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-09-11 |
| 5535 | LINE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-09-07 |
| 4699 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-04-03 |
| 3592 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | EM | Flood | 2023-03-10 |
| 3591 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | EM | Flood | 2023-01-09 |
| 5381 | BLUE RIDGE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-10-26 |
| 4569 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2020-10-16 |
| 5350 | EL DORADO FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-09-06 |
| 5325 | APPLE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-08-02 |
| 4482 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-22 |
| 3428 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 5301 | HILLSIDE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2019-10-31 |
| 3415 | EARTHQUAKES | EM | Earthquake | 2019-07-08 |
| 5147 | BLUE CUT FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-08-16 |
| 5144 | PILOT FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-08-08 |
| 5089 | NORTH FIRE | FM | Fire | 2015-07-17 |
| 2955 | HILL FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-09-02 |
| 1952 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND DEBRIS AND MUD FLOWS | DR | Flood | 2011-01-26 |
| 1884 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND DEBRIS AND MUD FLOWS | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-03-08 |
| 2841 | SHEEP FIRE | FM | Fire | 2009-10-04 |
Show 41 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2836 | PENDLETON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2009-09-01 |
| 2833 | OAK GLEN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2009-08-31 |
| 2792 | FREEWAY FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2008-11-15 |
| 1731 | WILDFIRES, FLOODING, MUD FLOWS, AND DEBRIS FLOWS | DR | Fire | 2007-10-24 |
| 3279 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2007-10-23 |
| 2738 | GRASS VALLEY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2007-10-22 |
| 2728 | BUTLER 2 FIRE | FM | Fire | 2007-09-15 |
| 1689 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 2007-03-13 |
| 2653 | SAWTOOTH FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2006-07-12 |
| 3248 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1585 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUD AND DEBRIS FLOWS | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-04-14 |
| 1577 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, DEBRIS FLOWS, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-02-04 |
| 1498 | WILDFIRES, FLOODING, MUDFLOW AND DEBRIS FLOW DIRECTLY RELATED T | DR | Fire | 2003-10-27 |
| 2503 | OLD FIRE | FM | Fire | 2003-10-25 |
| 2501 | CA-GRAND PRIX FIRE-10-23-2003 | FM | Fire | 2003-10-23 |
| 2497 | CA-BRIDGE FIRE-09-05-2003 | FM | Fire | 2003-09-06 |
| 2491 | CA-LOCUST WILDFIRE-08-19-2003 | FM | Fire | 2003-08-19 |
| 2464 | WILLIAMS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2002-09-24 |
| 2433 | LOUISIANA FIRE | FM | Fire | 2002-06-27 |
| 2425 | BLUECUT FIRE | FM | Fire | 2002-06-17 |
| 3140 | CA-WILDFIRES-08/25/1999 | EM | Fire | 1999-09-01 |
| 1203 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-02-09 |
| 1046 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING LANDSLIDES, MUD FLOW | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-03-12 |
| 1044 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, MUD FLOWS | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-01-10 |
| 1005 | FIRES, MUD/LANDSLIDES, FLOODING, SOIL EROSION | DR | Fire | 1993-10-28 |
| 979 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, MUD & LAND SLIDES, & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-02-03 |
| 947 | EARTHQUAKE & AFTERSHOCKS | DR | Earthquake | 1992-07-02 |
| 935 | RAIN/SNOW/WIND STORMS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 1992-02-25 |
| 894 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 1991-02-11 |
| 872 | FIRES | DR | Fire | 1990-06-30 |
| 690 | FLASH FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1983-09-22 |
| 687 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1983-07-01 |
| 677 | COASTAL STORMS, FLOODS, SLIDES & TORNADOES | DR | Coastal Storm | 1983-02-09 |
| 635 | BRUSH & TIMBER FIRES | DR | Fire | 1980-11-27 |
| 615 | SEVERE STORMS, MUDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1980-02-21 |
| 547 | COASTAL STORMS, MUDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1978-02-15 |
| 521 | FLOODING, TROPICAL STORM KATHLEEN | DR | Flood | 1976-09-21 |
| 295 | FOREST & BRUSH FIRES | DR | Fire | 1970-09-29 |
| 253 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-01-26 |
| 223 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1967-01-02 |
| 211 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1965-12-07 |
Storm Events in California
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to San Bernardino County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind | 4,070 | 13 | 27 | $228.2M |
| Flood | 3,132 | 26 | 25 | $985.1M |
| Heavy Snow | 1,814 | 6 | 0 | $1.6M |
| Dense Fog | 1,605 | 52 | 148 | $2.8M |
| Drought | 1,421 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
864
Total Paid
$10.2M
Avg Per Claim
$11.9K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very High
Score: 99.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very High
$2.1B/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Landslide Very High
Wildfire Very High
Earthquake Very High
Riverine Flooding Very High
Heat Wave Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Hail Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Avalanche Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Volcanic Activity Very Low
Cold Wave Relatively 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: Landslide
Landslide risk is a function of slope, soil and water, so it is usually a SECOND-ORDER hazard: it is triggered by the rainfall, snowmelt, wildfire burn scars or seismic shaking that came first. That is why a county can carry high landslide exposure whose realized damage is recorded under a flood or storm declaration instead.
Worth noting for San Bernardino County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Landslide 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
San Bernardino County's closest FEMA peer: Ascension Parish, LA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for San Bernardino County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
San Bernardino County shows 61 FEMA declarations, led by Fire.
Similar Major-disaster share
San Bernardino County: 30 of 61 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
San Bernardino County: NRI composite 99.8 (Very High).
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 San Bernardino County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for San Bernardino 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: 99.8 (Very High).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 61. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
San Bernardino County's NFIP claims file (864 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 San Bernardino County?
The most common disaster type in San Bernardino County is Fire, with 33 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (13), Severe Storm (7), Biological (2).
How does San Bernardino County's FEMA declaration record compare with the California average?
FEMA lists 61 declaration records for San Bernardino County. That is 114% above the California county mean of 28.5. Its count is also 194% 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 San Bernardino County received?
San Bernardino County has received 30 major disaster declarations, representing 49% of all 61 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has San Bernardino County filed?
San Bernardino County has 864 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $10.2M in payments, with an average of $11.9K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in San Bernardino County?
No. In San Bernardino County, Landslide has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $959.6M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in San Bernardino County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in San Bernardino County was 2020, with 5 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1966 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for San Bernardino County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, San Bernardino County, California has an overall risk score of 99.8 out of 100 (Very High). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Low, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very High, representing $2.1B in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to San Bernardino County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for San Bernardino County is Landslide (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Wildfire (Very High) and Earthquake (Very High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts landslide here at an average of 28 times per year. 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 San Bernardino County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · California profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events