FEMA Records
22
Above median
Arkansas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
St. Francis County, AR
22 FEMA disaster declarations (1969-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 22
- FEMA declarations
- 13
- Major disasters
- 75
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
St. Francis County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 22 declarations, more than 57% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 9% below the Arkansas county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 25%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 25%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 22
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 27
- 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 05123 · St. Francis County 22 declarations · rank 1243/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-HEAVY 22
- MAJOR-MID 59%
- RANK-LOWER #1,243
- PHOTO-FINISH Hardy
- NRI-LOW 75
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-BELOW -9%
Nearest declaration peer: Hardy, WV (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Arkansas state profile
St. Francis County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among St. Francis County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Hardy · near 22
Hardy · near
22 declarations
- Prairie · near 22
Prairie · near
22 declarations
- Saluda · near 22
Saluda · near
22 declarations
- St. Francis · this county 22
St. Francis · this county
22 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows St. Francis County carries 22 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1243 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How St. Francis County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
St. Francis County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · St. Francis County
22 Top 43% higher than 57% 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
St. Francis County's FEMA Risk Index score
What does St. Francis County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 74.7/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $18.9M in annualized losses), and a Very High social-vulnerability profile combined with Very Low community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Tornado stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 2 years here, based on 18 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 27 claims and $446.9K 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.
Start with the state benchmark: a Arkansas county averages 24.2 federal declaration records, while St. Francis County has 22. The gap is 9% 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.
60 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
St. Francis County, AR · 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
16/30
22 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.1x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
11/25
22 declarations (0.9x state county average of 24)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
13 of 22 declarations are major disasters (59%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in St. Francis County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - St. Francis 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
59%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
75
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike St. Francis 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tornado | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 134 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 1.7 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 23 modeled event-days per year |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 8 modeled event-days per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 1.6 times per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 53 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 59 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 3.1 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 5.4 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 4,040 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 7
Flood 5
Severe Ice Storm 3
Hurricane 2
Biological 2
Tornado 2
Winter Storm 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on St. Francis County's record, 32% 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 - 13 59.1%
of all 22 declarations
Emergency - 9 40.9%
of all 22 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
Show 2 earlier declaration years
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 22 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 22 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3636 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 4873 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2025-05-21 |
| 3627 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | EM | Severe Storm | 2025-04-05 |
| 3541 | HURRICANE LAURA | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-27 |
| 4518 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-03 |
| 3461 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 1975 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND ASSOCIATED FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-05-02 |
| 1861 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-12-03 |
| 1845 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-06-16 |
| 3301 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2009-01-28 |
| 1751 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-03-26 |
| 3215 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-02 |
| 1472 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-06-06 |
| 1354 | SEVERE WINTER ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2000-12-29 |
| 3159 | SEVERE WINTER ICE STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2000-12-28 |
| 1266 | AR SEVERE WEATHER 1-21-99 | DR | Severe Storm | 1999-01-23 |
| 1176 | FLOODING, SEVERE STORMS | DR | Flood | 1997-04-14 |
| 3085 | SEVERE STORMS & TORNADOES | EM | Tornado | 1982-04-23 |
| 3054 | TORNADOES | EM | Tornado | 1978-01-20 |
| 437 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-06-08 |
Show 2 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 375 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-04-27 |
| 254 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-02-15 |
Storm Events in Arkansas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to St. Francis County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 3,657 | 10 | 23 | $60.9M |
| Hail | 2,230 | 0 | 0 | $7.7M |
| Flash Flood | 1,517 | 12 | 3 | $15.9M |
| Heat | 1,222 | 2 | 325 | $0 |
| Flood | 1,152 | 9 | 0 | $40.2M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
27
Total Paid
$446.9K
Avg Per Claim
$16.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 74.7/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$18.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Tornado Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Moderate
Landslide Very Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively 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: Tornado
Tornado exposure is the most spatially concentrated in the model: total destruction along a narrow corridor with intact property either side. County-level averages therefore understate severity badly for anyone actually in the path, and overstate it for everyone else.
For St. Francis County the two measures on this page point the same way: Tornado is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively High), and Severe Storm declarations also lead its federal record. Where the model and the declaration history agree, the reading is comparatively straightforward, the hazard is both expected and repeatedly realised.
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
St. Francis County's closest FEMA peer: Upson County, GA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for St. Francis County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
St. Francis County shows 22 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
St. Francis County: 13 of 22 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
St. Francis County: NRI composite 74.7 (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 St. Francis County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for St. Francis 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: 74.7 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 22. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 22 FEMA declarations, St. Francis 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 St. Francis County?
The most common disaster type in St. Francis County is Severe Storm, with 7 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (5), Severe Ice Storm (3), Hurricane (2).
How does St. Francis County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Arkansas average?
The typical Arkansas county has 24.2 FEMA declaration records; St. Francis County has 22, or 9% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 6% higher. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has St. Francis County received?
St. Francis County has received 13 major disaster declarations, representing 59% of all 22 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has St. Francis County filed?
St. Francis County has 27 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $446.9K in payments, with an average of $16.6K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in St. Francis County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in St. Francis County was 2020, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1969 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for St. Francis County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, St. Francis County, Arkansas has an overall risk score of 74.7 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Very High and community resilience is Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $18.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to St. Francis County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in St. Francis County as of the latest release is Tornado (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Earthquake (Relatively Moderate) and Ice Storm (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts tornado here at roughly once every 2 years, drawn from 18 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 St. Francis County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Arkansas profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events