FEMA Records
15
Below median
Illinois · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Union County, IL
15 FEMA disaster declarations (1969-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 15
- FEMA declarations
- 12
- Major disasters
- 55
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Union County. Its 15 FEMA declarations are 17% above the Illinois county mean and exceed the count for 23% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 45%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 45%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 15
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 109
- 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 Union County compare?
Union County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
15 23rd percentile higher than 23% 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 Illinois county average
What does Union County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 109 paid claims, totaling $443.1K. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $4.1K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Union County's 15 federal records stand 17% above the Illinois county mean of 12.9. 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 carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 55.4/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $14.8M in annualized losses), and a Relatively High social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively Moderate community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Earthquake carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 106 years here.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 15 entries for Union County, including 12 Major Disaster records, 17% above the Illinois county mean. Across the 51-year span, that works out to 0.3 declarations a year. Flood leads the file with 5 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
61 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Union County, IL · 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
11/30
15 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.7x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
15/25
15 declarations (1.2x state county average of 13)
Major Disaster Share Very High
20/25
12 of 15 declarations are major disasters (80%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Union County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Illinois Avg
+17%
State avg: 12.9
vs. National Avg
-28%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.3
Over 51 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
80%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
55
Relatively 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 106 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 4.1 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 11 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 7.7 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 3.9 modeled event-days per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | an average of 1.5 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 2.3 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 3.4 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 55 times per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 58 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 3,210 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 5
Severe Storm 5
Biological 2
Hurricane 1
Snowstorm 1
Tornado 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Union County's record, 33% of its declarations. Federal flood declarations cover two mechanisms that behave very differently: riverine flooding, which builds over days as a watershed drains and is usually forecast well in advance, and flash flooding, which can arrive in under an hour from rainfall that fell somewhere upstream.
Flood is also the one hazard class where a second federal dataset exists for the same events. The National Flood Insurance Program records what was actually paid on insured losses, so it measures a narrower thing than the declaration count: uninsured damage, and flooding outside mapped special flood hazard areas, never enters it. Reading the two together is more informative than either alone.
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 - 12 80.0%
of all 15 declarations
Emergency - 3 20.0%
of all 15 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 15 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 15 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4489 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-26 |
| 3435 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4461 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2019-09-19 |
| 1991 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-06-07 |
| 1850 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-07-02 |
| 1826 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-03-02 |
| 3230 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-07 |
| 3199 | RECORD/NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2005-02-01 |
| 1469 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-05-15 |
| 1416 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 2002-05-21 |
| 1053 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-05-30 |
| 997 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-07-09 |
| 583 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1979-04-30 |
| 373 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-04-26 |
| 276 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-08-30 |
Storm Events in Illinois
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Union County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,218 | 9 | 67 | $46.0M |
| Hail | 3,195 | 0 | 0 | $27.1M |
| Winter Weather | 1,363 | 14 | 49 | $1.8M |
| Flood | 1,221 | 14 | 11 | $84.3M |
| Flash Flood | 1,133 | 11 | 3 | $1.1B |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
109
Total Paid
$443.1K
Avg Per Claim
$4.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 55.4/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$14.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Hurricane Very 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: Earthquake
Earthquake is the model's clearest example of a hazard with no season and no warning. Its expected loss is driven less by how often shaking occurs than by how much of the building stock predates modern seismic codes, so exposure can be high in places where nothing has happened for a long time.
Worth noting for Union County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Earthquake carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), while the county's declaration history is led by Flood. 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
Union County's closest FEMA peer: Jones County, SD
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 15 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
Similar Major-disaster share
Union County: 12 of 15 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Union County: NRI composite 55.4 (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 Union County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Union County's NFIP claims file (109 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).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Union County?
The most common disaster type in Union County is Flood, with 5 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (5), Biological (2), Hurricane (1).
How does Union County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Illinois average?
FEMA lists 15 declaration records for Union County. That is 17% above the Illinois county mean of 12.9. Its count is also 28% 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 Union County received?
Union County has received 12 major disaster declarations, representing 80% of all 15 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Union County filed?
Union County has 109 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $443.1K in payments, with an average of $4.1K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Union County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Union County was 2005, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1969 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Union County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Union County, Illinois has an overall risk score of 55.4 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively High, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $14.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Union County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Union County is Earthquake (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Strong Wind (Relatively High) and Heat Wave (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts earthquake here at roughly once every 106 years. 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
Union County, IL has 15 federal declaration records, 17% more than the Illinois county mean of 13; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 12 of 15 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. Illinois overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the Illinois mean and the totals for 23% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- Use the data guide to separate this mid-volume insurance-claims file from declaration counts and modeled NRI risk. Disaster-data guide
An above-average declaration count records past federal responses; it does not predict the next event. Current warnings come from the National Weather Service and local emergency officials.
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.