FEMA Records
34
Very high volume
California · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Santa Cruz County, CA
34 FEMA disaster declarations (1977-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 34
- FEMA declarations
- 22
- Major disasters
- 98
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Santa Cruz County. Its 34 FEMA declarations are 19% above the California county mean and exceed the count for 92% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 2%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 2%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 34
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 1,633
- 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 06087 · Santa Cruz County 34 declarations · rank 244/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-HIGH · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 34
- MAJOR-MID 65%
- RANK-UPPER #244
- PHOTO-FINISH Sumter
- NRI-HIGH 98
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +19%
Nearest declaration peer: Sumter, FL (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · California state profile
Santa Cruz County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Santa Cruz County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Casey · near 34
Casey · near
34 declarations
- Morgan · near 34
Morgan · near
34 declarations
- Santa Cruz · this county 34
Santa Cruz · this county
34 declarations
- Sumter · near 34
Sumter · near
34 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Santa Cruz County carries 34 FEMA declaration records, ranked 244 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Santa Cruz County ranks in the national declaration registry
Santa Cruz County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Santa Cruz County
34 Top 8% higher than 92% 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 Cruz County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Santa Cruz County is led by Earthquake (about $190.0M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very High), while Drought 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 Santa Cruz County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 1,633 claims and $24.8M 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 $15.2K. 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 Cruz County's 34 federal records stand 19% 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 97.8/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $335.4M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Low and community resilience Relatively High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Drought stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at 38 modeled event-days per year here, based on 1,064 historical events on record.
76 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Santa Cruz 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
25/30
34 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.6x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
15/25
34 declarations (1.2x state county average of 29)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
22 of 34 declarations are major disasters (65%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
10 different disaster types declared in Santa Cruz County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Santa Cruz 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
65%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
98
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Santa Cruz 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 | Relatively High | 38 modeled event-days per year |
| Landslide | Relatively High | an average of 6.5 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively High | roughly once every 6 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 223 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 1.6 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 5.4 modeled event-days per year |
| Tsunami | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 3 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 4.2 times per year |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 3.1 times per year |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 38 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 1 time per year |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 30 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 43 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 9
Fire 9
Flood 8
Biological 2
Tsunami 1
Hurricane 1
Freezing 1
Earthquake 1
Coastal Storm 1
Drought 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Santa Cruz County's record, 26% of its declarations. In FEMA's vocabulary this covers convective weather: thunderstorm straight-line winds, large hail, and the multi-day outbreaks that often carry embedded tornadoes. Activity is heaviest in spring and summer, though the season varies by region.
These events behave differently from a hurricane on paper. Damage tends to be distributed along a storm track rather than concentrated on a coastline, and a declaration typically follows an outbreak that crossed several counties over a few days, not a single point of impact. Because the qualifying threshold is the cost of uninsured public and individual losses rather than storm intensity, two similar storms can produce a declaration in one year and none in another.
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 64.7%
of all 34 declarations
Emergency - 6 17.6%
of all 34 declarations
Fire Management - 6 17.6%
of all 34 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 4 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2017 | 3 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 4 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 2 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
Show 6 earlier declaration years
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1985 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 34 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 34 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 |
| 4558 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2020-08-22 |
| 5336 | CZU LIGHTNING FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2020-08-20 |
| 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 |
| 1968 | TSUNAMI WAVES | DR | Tsunami | 2011-04-18 |
| 2824 | LOCKHEED FIRE | FM | Fire | 2009-08-13 |
| 3287 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2008-06-28 |
| 2775 | TRABING FIRE | FM | Fire | 2008-06-20 |
| 2772 | MARTIN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2008-06-11 |
| 2766 | SUMMIT FIRE | FM | Fire | 2008-05-22 |
| 1646 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-06-05 |
| 1628 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-02-03 |
Show 14 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3248 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 2465 | CROY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2002-09-25 |
| 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 |
| 894 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 1991-02-11 |
| 845 | LOMA PRIETA EARTHQUAKE | DR | Earthquake | 1989-10-18 |
| 758 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1986-02-21 |
| 739 | GRASS, WILDLANDS, & FOREST FIRES | DR | Fire | 1985-07-18 |
| 677 | COASTAL STORMS, FLOODS, SLIDES & TORNADOES | DR | Coastal Storm | 1983-02-09 |
| 651 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOOD, MUDSLIDES & HIGH TIDE | DR | Flood | 1982-01-07 |
| 615 | SEVERE STORMS, MUDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1980-02-21 |
| 3023 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-01-20 |
Storm Events in California
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Santa Cruz 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
1,633
Total Paid
$24.8M
Avg Per Claim
$15.2K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 97.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$335.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Relatively High
Landslide Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively High
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Tsunami Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Coastal Flooding Relatively Low
Hail Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Tornado Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Avalanche 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 Santa Cruz County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Drought carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Severe Storm. 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 Cruz County's closest FEMA peer: San Patricio County, TX
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Santa Cruz County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Santa Cruz County shows 34 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Santa Cruz County: 22 of 34 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Santa Cruz County: NRI composite 97.8 (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 Cruz County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Santa Cruz 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: 97.8 (Relatively High).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 34. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Santa Cruz County's NFIP claims file (1,633 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 Cruz County?
The most common disaster type in Santa Cruz County is Severe Storm, with 9 declarations. Other disaster types include Fire (9), Flood (8), Biological (2).
How does Santa Cruz County's FEMA declaration record compare with the California average?
FEMA lists 34 declaration records for Santa Cruz County. That is 19% above the California county mean of 28.5. Its count is also 64% 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 Cruz County received?
Santa Cruz County has received 22 major disaster declarations, representing 65% of all 34 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Santa Cruz County filed?
Santa Cruz County has 1,633 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $24.8M in payments, with an average of $15.2K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Santa Cruz County?
No. In Santa Cruz County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Earthquake leads Expected Annual Loss at about $190.0M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Santa Cruz County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Santa Cruz County was 2008, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1977 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Santa Cruz County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Santa Cruz County, California has an overall risk score of 97.8 out of 100 (Relatively High). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Low, while community resilience comes in at Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $335.4M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Santa Cruz County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Santa Cruz County as of the latest release is Drought (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Landslide (Relatively High) and Earthquake (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 38 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 1,064 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 Santa Cruz County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · California profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events