FEMA Records
6
Low volume
Montana · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Sheridan County, MT
6 FEMA disaster declarations (2001-2023), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 6
- FEMA declarations
- 4
- Major disasters
- 15
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Start with the local benchmark for Sheridan County: 6 FEMA declaration records are 45% below the Montana county mean, even though the count is higher than 3% of counties in the national registry. On FEMA's distinct National Risk Index model, which combines expected loss with vulnerability and resilience, the county ranks safer than 15%.
- Safer than 15%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 6
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 1
- 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 30091 · Sheridan County 6 declarations · rank 3171/3,266
DECL-LIGHT · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-MODERATE · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-LIGHT 6
- MAJOR-MID 67%
- RANK-LOWER #3,171
- PHOTO-FINISH Summit
- NRI-LOW Very Low
- ACT-MODERATE Moderate
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-BELOW -45%
Nearest declaration peer: Summit, CO (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Montana state profile
Sheridan County among counties with fewer federal records
FEMA declaration records among Sheridan County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Lake · near 6
Lake · near
6 declarations
- Lander · near 6
Lander · near
6 declarations
- Sheridan · this county 6
Sheridan · this county
6 declarations
- Summit · near 6
Summit · near
6 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Sheridan County carries 6 FEMA declaration records, ranked 3171 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Sheridan County versus quieter counties in this dataset
Sheridan County among lower-declaration counties nationally
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Sheridan County
6 3rd percentile higher than 3% 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
Sheridan County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does Sheridan County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county's FEMA National Risk Index composite lands at 15.1/100 (Very Low), a modest reading against the rest of the country. Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $5.0M in annualized losses), tempered or compounded by a Relatively Moderate social-vulnerability score and Very Low community-resilience score. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Cold Wave carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 21 times per year here, based on 398 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 1 claim and $73 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 Montana county averages 11.0 federal declaration records, while Sheridan County has 6. The gap is 45% 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.
38 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Sheridan County, MT · 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
4/30
6 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.3x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
7/25
6 declarations (0.5x state county average of 11)
Major Disaster Share High
17/25
4 of 6 declarations are major disasters (67%)
Hazard Diversity High
10/20
4 different disaster types declared in Sheridan County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Sheridan 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
67%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
15
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Sheridan 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 21 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 18 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 1,241 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 5 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 27 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 1 time per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 1.9 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 25 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 11,364 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Biological 2
Severe Storm 2
Flood 1
Hurricane 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Sheridan County's record, 33% 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 - 4 66.7%
of all 6 declarations
Emergency - 2 33.3%
of all 6 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 6 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 6 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4726 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2023-08-12 |
| 4508 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-31 |
| 3476 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 1996 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-06-17 |
| 3253 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1350 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-12-06 |
Storm Events in Montana
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Sheridan County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind | 3,735 | 1 | 2 | $5.3M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2,396 | 5 | 24 | $15.1M |
| Hail | 2,015 | 0 | 0 | $4.1M |
| Winter Storm | 1,502 | 13 | 18 | $11.2M |
| Heavy Snow | 796 | 5 | 3 | $143.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
1
Total Paid
$73
Avg Per Claim
$73
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 15.1/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$5.0M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Very Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Hail Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Lightning Very Low
Earthquake 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: Cold Wave
Cold Wave measures exposure to extreme cold rather than to snow. Its harm is concentrated in health effects, burst infrastructure and energy demand spikes, and it falls hardest where the building stock and the grid were not built with sustained cold in mind.
Worth noting for Sheridan County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Cold Wave carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), 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
Sheridan County's closest FEMA peer: Butte County, ID
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Sheridan County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Sheridan County shows 6 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Sheridan County: 4 of 6 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Sheridan County: NRI composite 15.1 (Very 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 Sheridan County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Sheridan 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: 15.1 (Very Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 6. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
FEMA's National Risk Index flags Cold Wave as the top modeled exposure here (Relatively Moderate); the guide explains how that model differs from declaration counts.
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 Sheridan County?
The most common disaster type in Sheridan County is Severe Storm, with 2 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Flood (1), Hurricane (1).
How does Sheridan County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Montana average?
The typical Montana county has 11.0 FEMA declaration records; Sheridan County has 6, or 45% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 71% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Sheridan County received?
Sheridan County has received 4 major disaster declarations, representing 67% of all 6 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Sheridan County filed?
Sheridan County has 1 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $73 in payments, with an average of $73 per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Sheridan County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Sheridan County was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 2001 to 2023.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Sheridan County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Sheridan County, Montana has an overall risk score of 15.1 out of 100 (Very Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Moderate and community resilience is Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $5.0M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Sheridan County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Sheridan County as of the latest release is Cold Wave (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Winter Weather (Relatively Moderate) and Wildfire (Very Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts cold wave here at an average of 21 times per year, drawn from 398 historical events on record. 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 Sheridan County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Montana profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events