FEMA Records
43
Very high volume
California · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Santa Barbara County, CA
43 FEMA disaster declarations (1969-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Fire.
- 43
- FEMA declarations
- 27
- Major disasters
- 99
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Fire
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Santa Barbara County. Its 43 FEMA declarations are 51% above the California county mean and exceed the count for 98% 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
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 43
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 1,309
- 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 06083 · Santa Barbara County 43 declarations · rank 67/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-HIGH · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-HIGH
- DECL-HEAVY 43
- MAJOR-MID 63%
- RANK-UPPER #67
- PHOTO-FINISH Iberia
- NRI-HIGH 99
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Fire
- VS-ST-HIGH +51%
Nearest declaration peer: Iberia, LA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · California state profile
Santa Barbara County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Santa Barbara County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Calhoun · near
Calhoun · near
43 declarations
- Cleveland · near
Cleveland · near
43 declarations
- Iberia · near
Iberia · near
43 declarations
- Santa Barbara · this county
Santa Barbara · this county
43 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Santa Barbara County carries 43 FEMA declaration records, ranked 67 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Santa Barbara County ranks in the national declaration registry
Santa Barbara County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Santa Barbara County
43 Top 2% higher than 98% 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
Santa Barbara County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Santa Barbara County is led by Earthquake (about $168.2M 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 Santa Barbara County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 1,309 claims and $31.4M 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 $24.0K. 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. Santa Barbara County's 43 federal records stand 51% 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 99.0/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $477.3M 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, Landslide stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 60 times per year here.
85 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Santa Barbara 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
43 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.1x national county average)
County Disaster Density Very High
19/25
43 declarations (1.5x state county average of 29)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
27 of 43 declarations are major disasters (63%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
9 different disaster types declared in Santa Barbara County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Santa Barbara 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
99
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Santa Barbara 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 60 times per year |
| Drought | Very High | 83 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively High | roughly once every 19 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively High | roughly once every 139 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 1.5 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 7.3 modeled event-days per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 4.3 times per year |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Tsunami | Very Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 33 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 42 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 10 years |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | roughly once every 18,542,913 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | an average of 3.8 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Fire 15
Flood 13
Severe Storm 7
Biological 2
Freezing 2
Hurricane 1
Earthquake 1
Coastal Storm 1
Drought 1
What Fire declarations mean here
Fire is the most frequent declaration type on Santa Barbara County's record, 35% 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 - 27 62.8%
of all 43 declarations
Emergency - 8 18.6%
of all 43 declarations
Fire Management - 8 18.6%
of all 43 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 4 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 4 | |
| 2017 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 4 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 2 | |
Show 11 earlier declaration years
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1988 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 43 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 43 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 |
| 5419 | ALISAL FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-10-13 |
| 4482 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-22 |
| 3428 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 5303 | CAVE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2019-11-26 |
| 4431 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-05-01 |
| 5252 | HOLIDAY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2018-07-07 |
| 4353 | WILDFIRES, FLOODING, MUDFLOWS, AND DEBRIS FLOWS | DR | Fire | 2018-01-02 |
| 3396 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2017-12-08 |
| 5224 | THOMAS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-12-05 |
| 4308 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2017-04-01 |
| 4305 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2017-03-16 |
| 1952 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND DEBRIS AND MUD FLOWS | DR | Flood | 2011-01-26 |
| 2817 | JESUSITA FIRE | FM | Fire | 2009-05-06 |
| 1810 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2008-11-18 |
| 2790 | TEA FIRE | FM | Fire | 2008-11-14 |
Show 23 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2780 | GAP FIRE | FM | Fire | 2008-07-04 |
| 3287 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2008-06-28 |
| 1731 | WILDFIRES, FLOODING, MUD FLOWS, AND DEBRIS FLOWS | DR | Fire | 2007-10-24 |
| 3279 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2007-10-23 |
| 1689 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 2007-03-13 |
| 3248 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1577 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, DEBRIS FLOWS, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-02-04 |
| 2519 | CA-GAVIOTA FIRE-06-05-2004 | FM | Fire | 2004-06-05 |
| 1505 | EARTHQUAKE | DR | Earthquake | 2004-01-13 |
| 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 |
| 979 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, MUD & LAND SLIDES, & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-02-03 |
| 894 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 1991-02-11 |
| 872 | FIRES | DR | Fire | 1990-06-30 |
| 812 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH TIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1988-02-05 |
| 677 | COASTAL STORMS, FLOODS, SLIDES & TORNADOES | DR | Coastal Storm | 1983-02-09 |
| 615 | SEVERE STORMS, MUDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1980-02-21 |
| 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 |
| 316 | WINDS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 1972-01-11 |
| 253 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-01-26 |
Storm Events in California
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Santa Barbara 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
1,309
Total Paid
$31.4M
Avg Per Claim
$24.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 99.0/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$477.3M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Landslide Very High
Drought Very High
Earthquake Relatively High
Wildfire Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Coastal Flooding Relatively Low
Tsunami Very Low
Avalanche Very Low
Hail Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Winter Weather Very 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 Santa Barbara 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
Santa Barbara County's closest FEMA peer: Santa Rosa County, FL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Santa Barbara County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Santa Barbara County shows 43 FEMA declarations, led by Fire.
Similar Major-disaster share
Santa Barbara County: 27 of 43 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Santa Barbara County: NRI composite 99.0 (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 Santa Barbara County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Santa Barbara 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: 99.0 (Relatively High).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 43. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Santa Barbara County's NFIP claims file (1,309 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 Santa Barbara County?
The most common disaster type in Santa Barbara County is Fire, with 15 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (13), Severe Storm (7), Biological (2).
How does Santa Barbara County's FEMA declaration record compare with the California average?
FEMA lists 43 declaration records for Santa Barbara County. That is 51% above the California county mean of 28.5. Its count is also 108% 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 Santa Barbara County received?
Santa Barbara County has received 27 major disaster declarations, representing 63% of all 43 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Santa Barbara County filed?
Santa Barbara County has 1,309 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $31.4M in payments, with an average of $24.0K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Santa Barbara County?
No. In Santa Barbara County, Landslide has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Earthquake leads Expected Annual Loss at about $168.2M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Santa Barbara County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Santa Barbara County was 2008, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1969 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Santa Barbara County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Santa Barbara County, California has an overall risk score of 99.0 out of 100 (Relatively High). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively High, while community resilience comes in at Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $477.3M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Santa Barbara County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Santa Barbara County is Landslide (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Drought (Very High) and Earthquake (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts landslide here at an average of 60 times per year. 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 Santa Barbara County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · California profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events