FEMA Records
20
Above median
Delaware · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Sussex County, DE
20 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 20
- FEMA declarations
- 14
- Major disasters
- 94
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Sussex County. Its 20 FEMA declarations are 11% above the Delaware county mean and exceed the count for 46% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 6%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 6%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 20
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 4,307
- 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 10005 · Sussex County 20 declarations · rank 1691/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-MID · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 20
- MAJOR-MID 70%
- RANK-LOWER #1,691
- PHOTO-FINISH Monona
- NRI-MID 94
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +11%
Nearest declaration peer: Monona, IA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Delaware state profile
Sussex County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Sussex County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Cleveland · near 20
Cleveland · near
20 declarations
- Monona · near 20
Monona · near
20 declarations
- Sussex · this county 20
Sussex · this county
20 declarations
- Tallapoosa · near 20
Tallapoosa · near
20 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Sussex County carries 20 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1691 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Sussex County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Sussex County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Sussex County
20 46th percentile higher than 46% 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
Sussex County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Sussex County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $42.6M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Cold Wave 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 Sussex County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 4,307 claims and $35.7M 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 $8.3K. 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. Sussex County's 20 federal records stand 11% above the Delaware county mean of 18.0. 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 94.1/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $119.3M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively High and community resilience Relatively Moderate, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Cold Wave stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 1 years here, based on 12 historical events on record.
66 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Sussex County, DE · 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) Moderate
14/30
20 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.0x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
14/25
20 declarations (1.1x state county average of 18)
Major Disaster Share High
18/25
14 of 20 declarations are major disasters (70%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Sussex County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Sussex 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
70%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
94
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Sussex 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 High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Very High | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively High | roughly once every 6 years |
| Winter Weather | Very High | an average of 7 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.5 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 5 modeled event-days per year |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 4.3 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 2.4 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1,014 years |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 33 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 958 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 8 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 6
Snowstorm 5
Severe Storm 3
Biological 2
Winter Storm 1
Coastal Storm 1
Flood 1
Drought 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Sussex County's federal record, 30% of its declarations. Atlantic tropical systems run on a defined season, 1 June to 30 November, with most activity concentrated between August and October; Pacific and territorial basins run on their own calendars. A single named storm routinely produces one declaration number covering a long corridor of counties at once, well inland as well as on the coast, which is why an affected county's count can jump by several in one year without several separate events having occurred.
One practical distinction matters when reading these records: a tropical declaration usually bundles wind, storm surge and inland rainfall flooding under a single incident, but the insurance behind them is split. Wind damage falls to property insurers, while flood and surge damage is covered only under a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy. That is why a county can show heavy declaration activity and a comparatively small NFIP claims record, or the reverse.
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 - 14 70.0%
of all 20 declarations
Emergency - 6 30.0%
of all 20 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 2 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 20 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 20 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4916 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Winter Storm | 2026-05-29 |
| 4526 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-05 |
| 3449 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4265 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2016-03-16 |
| 4090 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-11-16 |
| 3357 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-29 |
| 4037 | HURRICANE IRENE | DR | Hurricane | 2011-09-30 |
| 3336 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-28 |
| 1896 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORMS | DR | Snowstorm | 2010-03-31 |
| 1654 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-07-05 |
| 3263 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-30 |
| 1494 | HURRICANE ISABEL | DR | Hurricane | 2003-09-20 |
| 3183 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-03-20 |
| 1205 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, HIGH WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-02-13 |
| 1082 | BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM) | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-12 |
| 1017 | SEVERE ICE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1994-03-16 |
| 3111 | SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-18 |
| 976 | SEVERE COASTAL STORM & FLOODING | DR | Coastal Storm | 1993-01-15 |
| 933 | SEVERE COASTAL STORM | DR | Flood | 1992-02-06 |
| 207 | WATER SHORTAGE | DR | Drought | 1965-08-18 |
Storm Events in Delaware
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Sussex County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 492 | 1 | 10 | $196.0K |
| Heavy Rain | 222 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Winter Weather | 132 | 1 | 50 | $0 |
| Flash Flood | 102 | 0 | 0 | $3.7M |
| Coastal Flood | 95 | 0 | 0 | $12.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
4,307
Total Paid
$35.7M
Avg Per Claim
$8.3K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 94.1/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$119.3M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Cold Wave Relatively High
Coastal Flooding Very High
Hurricane Relatively High
Winter Weather Very High
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively High
Wildfire Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively High
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Landslide 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 Sussex County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Cold Wave carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Hurricane. 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
Sussex County's closest FEMA peer: Union County, AR
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Sussex County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Sussex County shows 20 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Sussex County: 14 of 20 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Sussex County: NRI composite 94.1 (Relatively Moderate).
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 Sussex County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Sussex 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: 94.1 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 20. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Sussex County's NFIP claims file (4,307 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 Sussex County?
The most common disaster type in Sussex County is Hurricane, with 6 declarations. Other disaster types include Snowstorm (5), Severe Storm (3), Biological (2).
How does Sussex County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Delaware average?
FEMA lists 20 declaration records for Sussex County. That is 11% above the Delaware county mean of 18.0. Its count is also 3% below 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 Sussex County received?
Sussex County has received 14 major disaster declarations, representing 70% of all 20 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Sussex County filed?
Sussex County has 4,307 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $35.7M in payments, with an average of $8.3K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Sussex County?
No. In Sussex County, Cold Wave has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $42.6M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Sussex County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Sussex County was 1993, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Sussex County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Sussex County, Delaware has an overall risk score of 94.1 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively High; on community resilience, Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $119.3M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Sussex County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Sussex County is Cold Wave (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Coastal Flooding (Very High) and Hurricane (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts cold wave here at roughly once every 1 years, drawn from 12 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 Sussex County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Delaware profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events