FEMA Records
28
High volume
California · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
San Luis Obispo County, CA
28 FEMA disaster declarations (1967-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 28
- FEMA declarations
- 22
- Major disasters
- 96
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
San Luis Obispo County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 28 declarations, more than 81% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 2% below the California county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 4%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 4%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 28
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 613
- 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 06079 · San Luis Obispo County 28 declarations · rank 525/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-HIGH · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-HEAVY 28
- MAJOR-MID 79%
- RANK-MID #525
- PHOTO-FINISH Loíza
- NRI-HIGH 96
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Flood
- VS-ST-BELOW -2%
Nearest declaration peer: Loíza, PR (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · California state profile
San Luis Obispo County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among San Luis Obispo 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
- San Luis Obispo · this county 28
San Luis Obispo · this county
28 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows San Luis Obispo County carries 28 FEMA declaration records, ranked 525 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where San Luis Obispo County ranks in the national declaration registry
San Luis Obispo County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · San Luis Obispo 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
San Luis Obispo County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for San Luis Obispo County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $109.9M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Drought 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 Luis Obispo County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 613 claims and $8.6M 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 $14.1K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
Start with the state benchmark: a California county averages 28.5 federal declaration records, while San Luis Obispo County has 28. The gap is 2% 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.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 95.9/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $213.9M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Low and community resilience Very High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Drought stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at 90 modeled event-days per year here, based on 3,269 historical events on record.
72 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
San Luis Obispo 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) High
20/30
28 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
12/25
28 declarations (1.0x state county average of 29)
Major Disaster Share Very High
20/25
22 of 28 declarations are major disasters (79%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
9 different disaster types declared in San Luis Obispo County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - San Luis Obispo 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
79%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
96
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike San Luis Obispo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Drought | Very High | 90 modeled event-days per year |
| Landslide | Relatively High | an average of 129 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively High | roughly once every 123 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 9 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 8.5 modeled event-days per year |
| Tsunami | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 3.1 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 3.2 times per year |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 20 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 11 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 51 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | an average of 1.1 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 10
Severe Storm 8
Biological 2
Fire 2
Freezing 2
Hurricane 1
Earthquake 1
Coastal Storm 1
Drought 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on San Luis Obispo County's record, 36% 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 - 22 78.6%
of all 28 declarations
Emergency - 5 17.9%
of all 28 declarations
Fire Management - 1 3.6%
of all 28 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 4 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 3 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 2 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1985 | 1 | |
Show 6 earlier declaration years
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4769 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-04-13 |
| 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 |
| 4683 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2023-01-14 |
| 3591 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | EM | Flood | 2023-01-09 |
| 4482 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-22 |
| 3428 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4308 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2017-04-01 |
| 4305 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2017-03-16 |
| 4301 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2017-02-14 |
| 5146 | CHIMNEY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-08-14 |
| 1952 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND DEBRIS AND MUD FLOWS | DR | Flood | 2011-01-26 |
| 1689 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 2007-03-13 |
| 1628 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-02-03 |
| 3248 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1505 | EARTHQUAKE | DR | Earthquake | 2004-01-13 |
| 1203 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-02-09 |
| 1155 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUD AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-01-04 |
| 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 |
Show 8 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 894 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 1991-02-11 |
| 739 | GRASS, WILDLANDS, & FOREST FIRES | DR | Fire | 1985-07-18 |
| 677 | COASTAL STORMS, FLOODS, SLIDES & TORNADOES | DR | Coastal Storm | 1983-02-09 |
| 547 | COASTAL STORMS, MUDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1978-02-15 |
| 3023 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-01-20 |
| 364 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH TIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-02-08 |
| 253 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-01-26 |
| 223 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1967-01-02 |
Storm Events in California
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to San Luis Obispo 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
613
Total Paid
$8.6M
Avg Per Claim
$14.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 95.9/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$213.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Very High
Landslide Relatively High
Wildfire Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Tsunami Relatively Low
Coastal Flooding Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Hail Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Avalanche Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Winter Weather Very Low
Cold Wave 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: Drought
Drought is the slowest of the modeled hazards and the least visible: it does its damage to agriculture, water supply and soil over seasons rather than hours, so it rarely produces the kind of single-day damage that drives a disaster declaration. FEMA scores it in event-days per year rather than discrete events for exactly that reason.
Worth noting for San Luis Obispo County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Drought carries the highest modeled rating (Very High), 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
San Luis Obispo County's closest FEMA peer: Ballard County, KY
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for San Luis Obispo County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
San Luis Obispo County shows 28 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
Similar Major-disaster share
San Luis Obispo County: 22 of 28 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
San Luis Obispo County: NRI composite 95.9 (Relatively 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 Luis Obispo County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for San Luis Obispo 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: 95.9 (Relatively High).
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
San Luis Obispo County's NFIP claims file (613 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 Luis Obispo County?
The most common disaster type in San Luis Obispo County is Flood, with 10 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (8), Biological (2), Fire (2).
How does San Luis Obispo County's FEMA declaration record compare with the California average?
The typical California county has 28.5 FEMA declaration records; San Luis Obispo County has 28, or 2% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 35% higher. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has San Luis Obispo County received?
San Luis Obispo County has received 22 major disaster declarations, representing 79% of all 28 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has San Luis Obispo County filed?
San Luis Obispo County has 613 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $8.6M in payments, with an average of $14.1K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in San Luis Obispo County?
No. In San Luis Obispo County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $109.9M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in San Luis Obispo County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in San Luis Obispo County was 2023, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1967 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for San Luis Obispo County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, San Luis Obispo County, California has an overall risk score of 95.9 out of 100 (Relatively High). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively Low; on community resilience, Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $213.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to San Luis Obispo County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in San Luis Obispo County as of the latest release is Drought (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Landslide (Relatively High) and Wildfire (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 90 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 3,269 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 San Luis Obispo County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · California profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events