FEMA Records
10
Low volume
Illinois · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Shelby County, IL
10 FEMA disaster declarations (1990-2022), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Tornado.
- 10
- FEMA declarations
- 6
- Major disasters
- 52
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Tornado
- Top hazard
The verdict
Shelby County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 10 declarations, more than 10% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 22% below the Illinois county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 48%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 48%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 10
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 3
- 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 17173 · Shelby County 10 declarations · rank 2896/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-MID 10
- MAJOR-MID 60%
- RANK-LOWER #2,896
- PHOTO-FINISH Cheyenne
- NRI-LOW 52
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Tornado
- VS-ST-BELOW -22%
Nearest declaration peer: Cheyenne, NE (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Illinois state profile
Shelby County among counties with fewer federal records
FEMA declaration records among Shelby County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Cheyenne · near 10
Cheyenne · near
10 declarations
- Clinton · near 10
Clinton · near
10 declarations
- Golden Valley · near 10
Golden Valley · near
10 declarations
- Shelby · this county 10
Shelby · this county
10 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Shelby County carries 10 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2896 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Shelby County versus quieter counties in this dataset
Shelby County among lower-declaration counties nationally
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Shelby County
10 10th percentile higher than 10% 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
Shelby County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Shelby County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $7.3M 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 Shelby County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 51.7/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $19.8M in annualized losses), and a Relatively Low social-vulnerability profile combined with Very High community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. 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 1.7 modeled event-days per year here, based on 42 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 3 claims and $64.2K 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 Illinois county averages 12.9 federal declaration records, while Shelby County has 10. The gap is 22% 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.
50 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Shelby County, IL · 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) Low
7/30
10 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.5x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
10/25
10 declarations (0.8x state county average of 13)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
6 of 10 declarations are major disasters (60%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Shelby County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Shelby 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
60%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
52
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Shelby 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 | 1.7 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.5 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 255 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 48 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 7.7 modeled event-days per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 8.4 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 3 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.9 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 4.9 times per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 36 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 16,645 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Tornado 2
Biological 2
Snowstorm 2
Flood 1
Severe Ice Storm 1
Hurricane 1
Severe Storm 1
What Tornado declarations mean here
Tornado is the most frequent declaration type on Shelby County's record, 20% of its declarations, which is unusual: most counties file tornado damage under the broader Severe Storm category, so a tornado-led record generally means one or more damage paths severe enough to be named in their own right. Tornado damage is the most spatially concentrated of any hazard class here - total destruction along a narrow corridor with undamaged property either side, so county-level totals understate how severe the local impact was for the households actually in the path.
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 - 6 60.0%
of all 10 declarations
Emergency - 4 40.0%
of all 10 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 10 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 10 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3577 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | EM | Tornado | 2021-12-13 |
| 4489 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-26 |
| 3435 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4116 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2013-05-10 |
| 1960 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2011-03-17 |
| 1681 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2007-02-09 |
| 3230 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-07 |
| 1416 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 2002-05-21 |
| 3134 | IL-WINTER STORM 1/1/99 | EM | Snowstorm | 1999-01-08 |
| 871 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1990-06-22 |
Storm Events in Illinois
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Shelby County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,218 | 9 | 67 | $46.0M |
| Hail | 3,195 | 0 | 0 | $27.1M |
| Winter Weather | 1,363 | 14 | 49 | $1.8M |
| Flood | 1,221 | 14 | 11 | $84.3M |
| Flash Flood | 1,133 | 11 | 3 | $1.1B |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
3
Total Paid
$64.2K
Avg Per Claim
$21.4K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 51.7/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$19.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Relatively High
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Wildfire 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: 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 Shelby 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 Tornado. 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
Shelby County's closest FEMA peer: Adams County, WA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Shelby County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Shelby County shows 10 FEMA declarations, led by Tornado.
Similar Major-disaster share
Shelby County: 6 of 10 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Shelby County: NRI composite 51.7 (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 Shelby County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Shelby 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: 51.7 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 10. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 10 FEMA declarations, Shelby 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).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Shelby County?
The most common disaster type in Shelby County is Tornado, with 2 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Snowstorm (2), Flood (1).
How does Shelby County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Illinois average?
The typical Illinois county has 12.9 FEMA declaration records; Shelby County has 10, or 22% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 52% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Shelby County received?
Shelby County has received 6 major disaster declarations, representing 60% of all 10 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Shelby County filed?
Shelby County has 3 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $64.2K in payments, with an average of $21.4K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Shelby County?
No. In Shelby County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $7.3M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Shelby County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Shelby County was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1990 to 2022.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Shelby County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Shelby County, Illinois has an overall risk score of 51.7 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Low, while community resilience comes in at Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $19.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Shelby County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Shelby County is Drought (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Cold Wave (Relatively Moderate) and Earthquake (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 1.7 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 42 historical events on record. The underlying methodology weighs historical event frequency against 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 Shelby County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Illinois profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events