FEMA Records
29
High volume
Washington · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Skamania County, WA
29 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 29
- FEMA declarations
- 23
- Major disasters
- 50
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Skamania County. Its 29 FEMA declarations are 17% above the Washington county mean and exceed the count for 85% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 50%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 50%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 29
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 15
- 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 53059 · Skamania County 29 declarations · rank 490/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 29
- MAJOR-MID 79%
- RANK-MID #490
- PHOTO-FINISH Bath
- NRI-LOW 50
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +17%
Nearest declaration peer: Bath, KY (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Washington state profile
Skamania County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Skamania County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Bath · near 29
Bath · near
29 declarations
- Lenoir · near 29
Lenoir · near
29 declarations
- Skamania · this county 29
Skamania · this county
29 declarations
- Walthall · near 29
Walthall · near
29 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Skamania County carries 29 FEMA declaration records, ranked 490 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Skamania County ranks in the national declaration registry
Skamania County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Skamania County
29 Top 15% higher than 85% 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
Skamania County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Skamania County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $8.0M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very High), while Volcanic Activity 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 Skamania County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's data shows an elevated National Risk Index composite of 49.7/100 for this county (Relatively Low rating). Expected Annual Loss comes in at Relatively Low (roughly $19.4M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability (Very Low) and community resilience (Relatively Low) both factor into how that raw exposure plays out on the ground. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Volcanic Activity stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 76 years here, based on 11 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 15 claims and $333.9K 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.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Skamania County's 29 federal records stand 17% above the Washington county mean of 24.9. 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.
74 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Skamania County, WA · 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
21/30
29 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
15/25
29 declarations (1.2x state county average of 25)
Major Disaster Share Very High
20/25
23 of 29 declarations are major disasters (79%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Skamania County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Skamania 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
50
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Skamania 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Volcanic Activity | Relatively High | roughly once every 76 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 194 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 80 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | an average of 2.8 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 3.4 modeled event-days per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | an average of 40 times per year |
| Coastal Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 6 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 21 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 5 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 10 years |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 6.4 times per year |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 16 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 10
Flood 9
Fire 5
Biological 2
Coastal Storm 1
Earthquake 1
Volcanic Eruption 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Skamania County's record, 34% 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 - 23 79.3%
of all 29 declarations
Fire Management - 3 10.3%
of all 29 declarations
Emergency - 3 10.3%
of all 29 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 3 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 3 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
Show 6 earlier declaration years
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 29 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 29 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4906 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2026-04-07 |
| 4775 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-04-28 |
| 5467 | TUNNEL FIVE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-07-03 |
| 4682 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-01-12 |
| 5456 | NAKIA CREEK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2022-10-17 |
| 4650 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, SNOWSTORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2022-03-29 |
| 4593 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2021-04-08 |
| 4584 | WILDFIRES AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Fire | 2021-02-04 |
| 4481 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-22 |
| 3427 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4309 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2017-04-21 |
| 4253 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, MUDSLIDES, AND A T | DR | Flood | 2016-02-02 |
| 4249 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2016-01-15 |
| 3372 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2015-08-21 |
| 4056 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-03-05 |
| 1963 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-03-25 |
| 1825 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND RECORD AND NEAR RECORD SNOW | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-03-02 |
| 1817 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, LANDSLIDES, MUDSLIDES, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2009-01-30 |
| 2731 | BROUGHTON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2007-09-21 |
| 1682 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-02-14 |
Show 9 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1671 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-12-12 |
| 3227 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Coastal Storm | 2005-09-07 |
| 1361 | EARTHQUAKE | DR | Earthquake | 2001-03-01 |
| 1159 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, LAND & MUDS SLIDES,FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-01-17 |
| 1100 | HIGH WINDS, SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1996-02-09 |
| 623 | VOLCANIC ERUPTION, MT. ST. HELENS | DR | Volcanic Eruption | 1980-05-21 |
| 545 | SEVERE STORMS,MUDSLIDES, & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1977-12-10 |
| 322 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1972-02-01 |
| 185 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1964-12-29 |
Storm Events in Washington
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Skamania County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Snow | 1,700 | 5 | 7 | $2.3M |
| High Wind | 614 | 15 | 6 | $1.1B |
| Wildfire | 299 | 4 | 4 | $1.8B |
| Winter Weather | 259 | 9 | 62 | $1.1M |
| Flood | 231 | 4 | 0 | $391.2M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
15
Total Paid
$333.9K
Avg Per Claim
$22.3K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 49.7/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$19.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Volcanic Activity Relatively High
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Landslide Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Avalanche Very Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Winter Weather Very Low
Coastal Flooding Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Drought Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Lightning Very Low
Hail 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: Volcanic Activity
Volcanic Activity is the rarest hazard in the model and the most locally determined. Its modeled exposure follows proximity to specific known systems rather than any regional pattern.
Worth noting for Skamania County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Volcanic Activity 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
Skamania County's closest FEMA peer: Clay County, MN
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Skamania County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Skamania County shows 29 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Skamania County: 23 of 29 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Skamania County: NRI composite 49.7 (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 Skamania County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Skamania 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: 49.7 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 29. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 29 FEMA declarations, Skamania 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 Skamania County?
The most common disaster type in Skamania County is Severe Storm, with 10 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (9), Fire (5), Biological (2).
How does Skamania County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Washington average?
FEMA lists 29 declaration records for Skamania County. That is 17% above the Washington county mean of 24.9. Its count is also 40% 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 Skamania County received?
Skamania County has received 23 major disaster declarations, representing 79% of all 29 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Skamania County filed?
Skamania County has 15 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $333.9K in payments, with an average of $22.3K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Skamania County?
No. In Skamania County, Volcanic Activity has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $8.0M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Skamania County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Skamania County was 2007, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Skamania County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Skamania County, Washington has an overall risk score of 49.7 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Very Low and community resilience is Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $19.4M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Skamania County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Skamania County is Volcanic Activity (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Wildfire (Relatively Moderate) and Earthquake (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts volcanic activity here at roughly once every 76 years, drawn from 11 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 Skamania County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Washington profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events