FEMA Records
28
High volume
New Jersey · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Sussex County, NJ
28 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2021), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 28
- FEMA declarations
- 17
- Major disasters
- 77
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Sussex County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 28 declarations, more than 81% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 6% below the New Jersey county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 23%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 23%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 28
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 192
- 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 34037 · Sussex County 28 declarations · rank 590/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-HEAVY 28
- MAJOR-MID 61%
- RANK-MID #590
- PHOTO-FINISH Loíza
- NRI-LOW 77
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-BELOW -6%
Nearest declaration peer: Loíza, PR (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · New Jersey state profile
Sussex County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Sussex County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Hertford · near 28
Hertford · near
28 declarations
- Loíza · near 28
Loíza · near
28 declarations
- Maunabo · near 28
Maunabo · near
28 declarations
- Sussex · this county 28
Sussex · this county
28 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Sussex County carries 28 FEMA declaration records, ranked 590 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Sussex County ranks in the national declaration registry
Sussex County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Sussex County
28 Top 19% higher than 81% 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 $27.3M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Strong Wind 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 Sussex County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 192 paid claims, totaling $2.0M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $10.2K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
Start with the state benchmark: a New Jersey county averages 29.7 federal declaration records, while Sussex County has 28. The gap is 6% 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.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 77.4/100 (Relatively Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $58.7M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Very Low and community resilience Very High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Strong Wind stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 5.1 times per year here, based on 195 historical events on record.
67 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Sussex County, NJ · 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
20/30
28 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
12/25
28 declarations (0.9x state county average of 30)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
17 of 28 declarations are major disasters (61%)
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
61%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
77
Relatively Low
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind | Very High | an average of 5.1 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | an average of 1.5 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 16 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.7 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 16 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 712 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 31 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 4 modeled event-days per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 1.8 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 5 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 2,575 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 2.5 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 9
Severe Storm 7
Snowstorm 4
Biological 2
Drought 2
Flood 2
Fire 1
Other 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Sussex County's federal record, 32% 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 - 17 60.7%
of all 28 declarations
Emergency - 11 39.3%
of all 28 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 4 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2012 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 2 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1981 | 1 | |
Show 3 earlier declaration years
| 1975 | 1 | |
| 1971 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 28 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 28 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4614 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR | Hurricane | 2021-09-05 |
| 3573 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | EM | Hurricane | 2021-09-02 |
| 4597 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2021-04-28 |
| 4574 | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | DR | Hurricane | 2020-12-11 |
| 4488 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3451 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4086 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-10-30 |
| 3354 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-28 |
| 4048 | SEVERE STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-11-30 |
| 4039 | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM LEE | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-10-14 |
| 4021 | HURRICANE IRENE | DR | Hurricane | 2011-08-31 |
| 3332 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-27 |
| 1694 | SEVERE STORMS AND INLAND AND COASTAL FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-04-26 |
| 1653 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-07-07 |
| 3257 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-19 |
| 1588 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-04-19 |
| 1563 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-10-01 |
| 3181 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-03-20 |
| 3169 | FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS | EM | Fire | 2001-09-19 |
| 3156 | WEST NILE VIRUS | EM | Other | 2000-11-01 |
Show 8 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1337 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-08-17 |
| 3148 | HURRICANE FLOYD EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS | EM | Hurricane | 1999-09-17 |
| 1088 | BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM) | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-13 |
| 3106 | SEVERE BLIZZARD | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-17 |
| 3083 | WATER SHORTAGE | EM | Drought | 1980-10-19 |
| 477 | HEAVY RAINS, HIGH WINDS, HAIL & TORNADOES | DR | Flood | 1975-07-23 |
| 310 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1971-09-04 |
| 205 | WATER SHORTAGE | DR | Drought | 1965-08-18 |
Storm Events in New Jersey
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Sussex County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2,853 | 6 | 27 | $33.9M |
| Winter Weather | 1,141 | 8 | 114 | $0 |
| Flash Flood | 955 | 32 | 7 | $226.8M |
| Coastal Flood | 380 | 0 | 0 | $2.0M |
| Winter Storm | 361 | 11 | 8 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
192
Total Paid
$2.0M
Avg Per Claim
$10.2K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 77.4/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$58.7M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Strong Wind Very High
Cold Wave Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Low
Earthquake Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Avalanche 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: Strong Wind
Strong Wind covers damaging non-thunderstorm, non-tornadic wind, the kind produced by steep pressure gradients and downslope events. It is a broad, frequent, low-drama hazard: roofs, signage, power lines and high-profile vehicles, spread across a wide area rather than concentrated on a path.
Worth noting for Sussex County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Strong Wind carries the highest modeled rating (Very 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: Lewis County, NY
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 28 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Sussex County: 17 of 28 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Sussex County: NRI composite 77.4 (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 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: 77.4 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 28. 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 (192 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 9 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (7), Snowstorm (4), Biological (2).
How does Sussex County's FEMA declaration record compare with the New Jersey average?
The typical New Jersey county has 29.7 FEMA declaration records; Sussex County has 28, or 6% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 35% higher. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Sussex County received?
Sussex County has received 17 major disaster declarations, representing 61% of all 28 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Sussex County filed?
Sussex County has 192 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $2.0M in payments, with an average of $10.2K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Sussex County?
No. In Sussex County, Strong Wind has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $27.3M. 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 2021, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2021.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Sussex County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Sussex County, New Jersey has an overall risk score of 77.4 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Very Low, while community resilience comes in at Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $58.7M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Sussex County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Sussex County is Strong Wind (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Cold Wave (Relatively High) and Landslide (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts strong wind here at an average of 5.1 times per year, drawn from 195 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 · New Jersey profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events