FEMA Records
36
Very high volume
California · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Sonoma County, CA
36 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2023), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Fire.
- 36
- FEMA declarations
- 23
- Major disasters
- 99
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Fire
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Sonoma County. Its 36 FEMA declarations are 26% above the California county mean and exceed the count for 94% 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
- 36
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 7,402
- 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 06097 · Sonoma County 36 declarations · rank 198/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-HIGH · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 36
- MAJOR-MID 64%
- RANK-UPPER #198
- PHOTO-FINISH Hardee
- NRI-HIGH 99
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Fire
- VS-ST-ABOVE +26%
Nearest declaration peer: Hardee, FL (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · California state profile
Sonoma County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Sonoma County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Hardee · near
Hardee · near
36 declarations
- Pearl River · near
Pearl River · near
36 declarations
- Sonoma · this county
Sonoma · this county
36 declarations
- Suffolk · near
Suffolk · near
36 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Sonoma County carries 36 FEMA declaration records, ranked 198 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Sonoma County ranks in the national declaration registry
Sonoma County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Sonoma County
36 Top 6% higher than 94% 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
Sonoma County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Sonoma County is led by Earthquake (about $283.6M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very High), while Landslide 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 Sonoma County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 7,402 claims and $132.1M 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 $17.8K. 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. Sonoma County's 36 federal records stand 26% 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 99.1/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $604.7M 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, Landslide stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 67 times per year here.
78 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Sonoma 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
26/30
36 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.7x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
16/25
36 declarations (1.3x state county average of 29)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
23 of 36 declarations are major disasters (64%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
9 different disaster types declared in Sonoma County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Sonoma 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
64%
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 Sonoma 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 | Relatively High | an average of 67 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively High | roughly once every 9 years |
| Drought | Relatively High | 33 modeled event-days per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 2.5 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively High | roughly once every 258 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 7 modeled event-days per year |
| Volcanic Activity | Relatively Low | roughly once every 10,000 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 3.4 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Tsunami | Very Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 57 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 12 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 57 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Fire 11
Severe Storm 9
Flood 9
Biological 2
Hurricane 1
Fishing Losses 1
Freezing 1
Coastal Storm 1
Drought 1
What Fire declarations mean here
Fire is the most frequent declaration type on Sonoma County's record, 31% 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 - 23 63.9%
of all 36 declarations
Fire Management - 8 22.2%
of all 36 declarations
Emergency - 5 13.9%
of all 36 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 6 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 4 | |
| 2017 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 2 | |
| 1994 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
Show 7 earlier declaration years
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 36 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 36 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 4569 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2020-10-16 |
| 5376 | GLASS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-09-27 |
| 4558 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2020-08-22 |
| 5331 | LNU LIGHTNING FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2020-08-18 |
| 4482 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-22 |
| 3428 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 5295 | KINCADE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2019-10-24 |
| 4434 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-05-17 |
| 4344 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2017-10-10 |
| 5222 | PARTRICK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-10-09 |
| 5215 | TUBBS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-10-09 |
| 5220 | NUNS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-10-09 |
| 4308 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2017-04-01 |
| 4301 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2017-02-14 |
| 5112 | VALLEY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2015-09-13 |
| 1646 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-06-05 |
Show 16 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1628 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-02-03 |
| 3248 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 2554 | CA-GEYSERS FIRE-09-04-2004 | FM | Fire | 2004-09-04 |
| 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 |
| 1038 | THE EL NINO (THE SALMON INDUSTRY) | DR | Fishing Losses | 1994-09-13 |
| 979 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, MUD & LAND SLIDES, & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-02-03 |
| 894 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 1991-02-11 |
| 758 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1986-02-21 |
| 677 | COASTAL STORMS, FLOODS, SLIDES & TORNADOES | DR | Coastal Storm | 1983-02-09 |
| 651 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOOD, MUDSLIDES & HIGH TIDE | DR | Flood | 1982-01-07 |
| 3023 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-01-20 |
| 253 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-01-26 |
| 183 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1964-12-24 |
Storm Events in California
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Sonoma 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
7,402
Total Paid
$132.1M
Avg Per Claim
$17.8K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 99.1/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$604.7M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Landslide Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively High
Drought Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Wildfire Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Volcanic Activity Relatively Low
Coastal Flooding Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Tsunami Very Low
Hail Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Avalanche Very Low
Winter Weather 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: 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 Sonoma County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Landslide carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively 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
Sonoma County's closest FEMA peer: Harrison County, MS
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Sonoma County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Sonoma County shows 36 FEMA declarations, led by Fire.
Similar Major-disaster share
Sonoma County: 23 of 36 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Sonoma County: NRI composite 99.1 (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 Sonoma County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Sonoma 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: 99.1 (Relatively High).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 36. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Sonoma County's NFIP claims file (7,402 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 Sonoma County?
The most common disaster type in Sonoma County is Fire, with 11 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (9), Flood (9), Biological (2).
How does Sonoma County's FEMA declaration record compare with the California average?
FEMA lists 36 declaration records for Sonoma County. That is 26% above the California county mean of 28.5. Its count is also 74% 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 Sonoma County received?
Sonoma County has received 23 major disaster declarations, representing 64% of all 36 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Sonoma County filed?
Sonoma County has 7,402 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $132.1M in payments, with an average of $17.8K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Sonoma County?
No. In Sonoma County, Landslide has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Earthquake leads Expected Annual Loss at about $283.6M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Sonoma County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Sonoma County was 2020, with 6 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2023.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Sonoma County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Sonoma County, California has an overall risk score of 99.1 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 $604.7M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Sonoma County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Sonoma County is Landslide (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Earthquake (Relatively High) and Drought (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts landslide here at an average of 67 times per year. 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 Sonoma County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · California profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events