FEMA Records
34
Very high volume
Florida · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Union County, FL
34 FEMA disaster declarations (1993-2025), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 34
- FEMA declarations
- 18
- Major disasters
- 11
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Union County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 34 declarations, more than 92% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 16% below the Florida county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county safer than 11%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Safer than 11%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 34
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 31
- 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.
How does Union County compare?
Union County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
34 Top 8% higher than 92% 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
Union County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Florida county average
What does Union County's hazard record show?
Declaration frequency
Nationally, Union County's 34 FEMA records form a high-volume history; within Florida, however, the count is 16% below the county mean. 18 entries carry the Major Disaster classification. The largest incident group is Hurricane, appearing 16 times. The full 32-year record averages 1.1 declarations annually. A DR label alone does not say whether Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both followed.
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's National Risk Index places this county in the low end of the national distribution, composite score 10.9/100 (Very Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $5.0M in annualized losses). Two modifiers shape how that exposure becomes real-world harm here: social vulnerability (Relatively Low) and community resilience (Relatively Low). Even the county's top-rated hazard, Hurricane, only reaches Relatively Low on FEMA's scale, none of the 18 modeled hazards stand out here. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 5 years here, based on 44 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 31 claims and $499.8K 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 Florida county averages 40.4 federal declaration records, while Union County has 34. The gap is 16% 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.
64 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Union County, FL · 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
25/30
34 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.6x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
11/25
34 declarations (0.8x state county average of 40)
Major Disaster Share High
13/25
18 of 34 declarations are major disasters (53%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Union County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Florida Avg
-16%
State avg: 40.4
vs. National Avg
+64%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
1.1
Over 32 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Union 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
53%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
11
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Union 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 5 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 276 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 82 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 3.5 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 8 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,105 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 17 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | an average of 1.8 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | an average of 1 time per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 34 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | roughly once every 10 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 1.8 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 16
Severe Storm 6
Fire 5
Tropical Storm 4
Biological 2
Freezing 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Union County's federal record, 47% 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 - 18 52.9%
of all 34 declarations
Emergency - 13 38.2%
of all 34 declarations
Fire Management - 3 8.8%
of all 34 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 4 | |
| 2023 | 3 | |
| 2022 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 3 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
Show 4 earlier declaration years
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 2 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 34 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 34 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4834 | HURRICANE MILTON | DR | Hurricane | 2024-10-11 |
| 3622 | HURRICANE MILTON | EM | Hurricane | 2024-10-07 |
| 4828 | HURRICANE HELENE | DR | Hurricane | 2024-09-28 |
| 3615 | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-24 |
| 4806 | HURRICANE DEBBY | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-10 |
| 3605 | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-03 |
| 4734 | HURRICANE IDALIA | DR | Hurricane | 2023-08-31 |
| 3596 | TROPICAL STORM IDALIA | EM | Tropical Storm | 2023-08-28 |
| 4680 | HURRICANE NICOLE | DR | Hurricane | 2022-12-13 |
| 4673 | HURRICANE IAN | DR | Hurricane | 2022-09-29 |
| 3584 | TROPICAL STORM IAN | EM | Hurricane | 2022-09-24 |
| 3561 | TROPICAL STORM ELSA | EM | Severe Storm | 2021-07-04 |
| 4486 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3432 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3419 | HURRICANE DORIAN | EM | Hurricane | 2019-08-30 |
| 3405 | HURRICANE MICHAEL | EM | Hurricane | 2018-10-09 |
| 4337 | HURRICANE IRMA | DR | Hurricane | 2017-09-10 |
| 3385 | HURRICANE IRMA | EM | Hurricane | 2017-09-05 |
| 4280 | HURRICANE HERMINE | DR | Hurricane | 2016-09-28 |
| 4068 | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-07-03 |
Show 14 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1785 | TROPICAL STORM FAY | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-08-24 |
| 3288 | TROPICAL STORM FAY | EM | Severe Storm | 2008-08-21 |
| 2689 | SUWANNEE FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2007-05-07 |
| 3220 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1561 | HURRICANE JEANNE | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-26 |
| 1545 | HURRICANE FRANCES | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-04 |
| 1539 | TROPICAL STORM BONNIE AND HURRICANE CHARLEY | DR | Hurricane | 2004-08-13 |
| 1359 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 2001-02-05 |
| 2306 | FL, SUWANNEE FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2000-06-05 |
| 3139 | FL-FIRES 04/15/99 | EM | Fire | 1999-04-27 |
| 2258 | FL-FIRES 04/13/99 | FM | Fire | 1999-04-20 |
| 1223 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | DR | Fire | 1998-06-18 |
| 1195 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-01-06 |
| 966 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1992-10-08 |
Storm Events in Florida
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Union County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5,243 | 17 | 45 | $24.8M |
| Hail | 1,012 | 0 | 0 | $564.6K |
| Heavy Rain | 865 | 2 | 3 | $200.0K |
| Flood | 826 | 9 | 0 | $2.0B |
| Tropical Storm | 767 | 92 | 6 | $4.9B |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
31
Total Paid
$499.8K
Avg Per Claim
$16.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 10.9/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$5.0M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hurricane Relatively Low
Wildfire Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Drought Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Winter Weather Very Low
Hail Very Low
Coastal Flooding 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: Hurricane
Hurricane exposure in the model bundles the three ways a tropical system does harm, which arrive on different timescales and are insured differently: wind, storm surge on the coast, and rainfall flooding that can reach far inland well after landfall.
For Union County the two measures on this page point the same way: Hurricane is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively Low), and Hurricane 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
Union County's closest FEMA peer: Middlesex County, MA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Union County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Union County shows 34 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Union County: 18 of 34 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Union County: NRI composite 10.9 (Very 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 Union County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 34 FEMA declarations, Union 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).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Union County?
The most common disaster type in Union County is Hurricane, with 16 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (6), Fire (5), Tropical Storm (4).
How does Union County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Florida average?
The typical Florida county has 40.4 FEMA declaration records; Union County has 34, or 16% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 64% higher. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Union County received?
Union County has received 18 major disaster declarations, representing 53% of all 34 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Union County filed?
Union County has 31 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $499.8K in payments, with an average of $16.1K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Union County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Union County was 2024, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1993 to 2025.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Union County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Union County, Florida has an overall risk score of 10.9 out of 100 (Very Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Low and community resilience is Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $5.0M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Union County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Union County as of the latest release is Hurricane (risk rating: Relatively Low). Other significant hazards include Wildfire (Relatively Low) and Lightning (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hurricane here at roughly once every 5 years, drawn from 44 historical events on record. These scores are based on FEMA's analysis of historical event frequency, 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.
What this means for Union County
Against a Florida county mean of 40 declarations, Union County, FL records 34, or 16% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as high activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (18 of 34) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Florida overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 92% of recorded county totals, but its own Florida 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.