FEMA Records
6
Low volume
Colorado · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Summit County, CO
6 FEMA disaster declarations (1977-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Biological.
- 6
- FEMA declarations
- 2
- Major disasters
- 60
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Biological
- Top hazard
The verdict
Start with the local benchmark for Summit County: 6 FEMA declaration records are 41% below the Colorado 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 in the riskiest 40%.
- Riskiest 40%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 6
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 30
- 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.
How does Summit County compare?
Summit County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
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 · 2026-08-03
Summit County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Colorado county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Summit County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $15.1M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very High), while Avalanche carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Very 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 Summit County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 60.2/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $29.5M in annualized losses), and a Very Low social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively Moderate community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Avalanche stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 1.1 times per year here, based on 32 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The state comparison is the clearest context for Summit County's moderate federal record. Its 6 declarations sit 41% below the Colorado county mean, with 2 Major Disaster entries among them. 2 records concern Biological, the file's most frequent incident type. Spread across 43 years, the registry rate is 0.1 per year. FEMA reports authorized programs separately from the DR, EM, and FM codes.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 30 claims and $20.3K 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 Colorado county averages 10.2 federal declaration records, while Summit County has 6. The gap is 41% 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.
32 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Summit County, CO · 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 (0.6x state county average of 10)
Major Disaster Share Moderate
8/25
2 of 6 declarations are major disasters (33%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Summit County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
Moderate
vs. Colorado Avg
-41%
State avg: 10.2
vs. National Avg
-71%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.1
Over 43 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Summit 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
33%
Mixed major share
NRI risk score
60
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Summit 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Avalanche | Very High | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 60 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.3 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 37 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 28 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 3,220 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,088 years |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | roughly once every 10,000 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 13 years |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 67 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Drought | No Rating | 38 modeled event-days per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Biological 2
Coastal Storm 1
Snowstorm 1
Fire 1
Drought 1
What Biological declarations mean here
Biological is the most frequent declaration type on Summit County's record, 33% of its declarations. In practice this category is dominated by the COVID-19 declarations of 2020, which were issued across every US state and territory rather than in response to any local hazard event.
This has a direct consequence for how Summit County's number should be read. Because those declarations reached essentially every county in the country, they raise every county's total by a similar amount and tell you nothing about local hazard exposure. A county whose record is led by Biological declarations is, in most cases, a county with a genuinely quiet weather-hazard history, the pandemic records are simply the largest thing in an otherwise short list.
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).
Emergency - 4 66.7%
of all 6 declarations
Major Disaster - 2 33.3%
of all 6 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4498 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-28 |
| 3436 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3224 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Coastal Storm | 2005-09-05 |
| 3185 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-04-09 |
| 1421 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2002-06-19 |
| 3025 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-01-29 |
Storm Events in Colorado
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Summit County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 4,913 | 0 | 100 | $2.9B |
| Winter Weather | 2,620 | 3 | 23 | $22.5K |
| High Wind | 1,992 | 5 | 6 | $20.9M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 1,741 | 2 | 11 | $5.4M |
| Winter Storm | 1,497 | 0 | 0 | $848.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
30
Total Paid
$20.3K
Avg Per Claim
$677
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 60.2/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$29.5M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Avalanche Very High
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Volcanic Activity Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Drought No Rating
Heat 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: Avalanche
Avalanche is the most geographically restricted hazard in the model, limited to steep terrain holding seasonal snow. Its exposure concentrates on mountain roads, rail corridors and backcountry recreation rather than on the built environment generally.
Worth noting for Summit County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Avalanche carries the highest modeled rating (Very High), while the county's declaration history is led by Biological. 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
Summit County's closest FEMA peer: Tazewell County, VA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Summit County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Summit County: NRI composite 60.2 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Summit County: 2 of 6 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Summit County shows 6 FEMA declarations, led by Biological.
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 Summit County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
FEMA's National Risk Index flags Avalanche as the top modeled exposure here (Very High); 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).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Summit County?
The most common disaster type in Summit County is Biological, with 2 declarations. Other disaster types include Coastal Storm (1), Snowstorm (1), Fire (1).
How does Summit County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Colorado average?
The typical Colorado county has 10.2 FEMA declaration records; Summit County has 6, or 41% 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 Summit County received?
Summit County has received 2 major disaster declarations, representing 33% of all 6 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Summit County filed?
Summit County has 30 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $20.3K in payments, with an average of $677 per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Summit County?
No. In Summit County, Avalanche has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $15.1M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Summit County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Summit County was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1977 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Summit County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Summit County, Colorado has an overall risk score of 60.2 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Very Low; on community resilience, Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $29.5M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Summit County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Summit County as of the latest release is Avalanche (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Landslide (Relatively Moderate) and Lightning (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts avalanche here at an average of 1.1 times per year, drawn from 32 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.
What this means for Summit County
Against a Colorado county mean of 10 declarations, Summit County, CO records 6, or 41% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as moderate activity.
- Emergency is the largest group (4 of 6) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Colorado overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 3% of recorded county totals, but its own Colorado benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. Most-disaster rankings
- A short NFIP claims file cannot establish low flood exposure; the data guide explains the limits of each federal measure. Disaster-data guide
A below-average federal record is not a safety guarantee. Use National Weather Service alerts and local emergency-management notices for present conditions, not this historical comparison.
PlainHazard derives this profile from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries and National Risk Index data. The declaration comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 - all federally-declared disasters for this county. fema.gov/openfema/disaster-declarations
- FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) - per-county per-hazard risk ratings and expected annual loss. hazards.fema.gov/nri
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database - state-level storm/severe-weather event records, 2015-2025. ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.