FEMA Records
39
Very high volume
Louisiana · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Vernon Parish, LA
39 FEMA disaster declarations (1977-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 39
- FEMA declarations
- 17
- Major disasters
- 69
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Vernon Parish has a nationally busy FEMA history: 39 declarations, more than 96% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 6% below the Louisiana county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 31%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 31%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 39
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 338
- 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 Vernon Parish compare?
Vernon Parish vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
39 Top 4% higher than 96% 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
Vernon Parish's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Louisiana county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Vernon Parish is led by Riverine Flooding (about $8.9M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Hurricane carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate). 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 Vernon Parish's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 338 paid claims, totaling $9.4M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $27.8K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
Start with the state benchmark: a Louisiana county averages 41.4 federal declaration records, while Vernon Parish has 39. 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 carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 68.9/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $21.6M in annualized losses), and a Relatively High social-vulnerability profile combined with Very Low community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Hurricane carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 10 years here, based on 42 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
Nationally, Vernon Parish's 39 FEMA records form a high-volume history; within Louisiana, however, the count is 6% below the county mean. 17 entries carry the Major Disaster classification. The largest incident group is Hurricane, appearing 19 times. The full 49-year record averages 0.8 declarations annually. A DR label alone does not say whether Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both followed.
71 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Vernon Parish, LA · 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
28/30
39 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.9x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
12/25
39 declarations (0.9x state county average of 41)
Major Disaster Share Moderate
11/25
17 of 39 declarations are major disasters (44%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
11 different disaster types declared in Vernon Parish
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Louisiana Avg
-6%
State avg: 41.4
vs. National Avg
+88%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.8
Over 49 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Vernon Parish
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
44%
Mixed major share
NRI risk score
69
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Vernon Parish?
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 Moderate | roughly once every 10 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 74 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 387 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 11 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1 time per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.6 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 1.9 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 2.2 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,160 years |
| Drought | No Rating | 31 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
Hurricane 19
Fire 4
Flood 4
Coastal Storm 3
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Winter Storm 1
Severe Storm 1
Other 1
Tornado 1
Snowstorm 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Vernon Parish's federal record, 49% 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).
Emergency - 18 46.2%
of all 39 declarations
Major Disaster - 17 43.6%
of all 39 declarations
Fire Management - 4 10.3%
of all 39 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 3 | |
| 2021 | 8 | |
| 2020 | 6 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 3 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 4 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 3 | |
Show 2 earlier declaration years
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 39 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 39 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3638 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 3614 | TROPICAL STORM FRANCINE | EM | Hurricane | 2024-09-10 |
| 5486 | HIGHWAY 113 FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-08-30 |
| 5485 | LIONS CAMP ROAD FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-08-27 |
| 5484 | IDA FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-08-25 |
| 3574 | TROPICAL STORM NICHOLAS | EM | Coastal Storm | 2021-09-13 |
| 4611 | HURRICANE IDA | DR | Hurricane | 2021-08-29 |
| 3568 | TROPICAL STORM IDA | EM | Hurricane | 2021-08-27 |
| 4590 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-03-09 |
| 3556 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-18 |
| 3549 | TROPICAL STORM ZETA | EM | Hurricane | 2020-10-27 |
| 4570 | HURRICANE DELTA | DR | Hurricane | 2020-10-16 |
| 3547 | HURRICANE DELTA | EM | Hurricane | 2020-10-07 |
| 3543 | HURRICANE SALLY | EM | Hurricane | 2020-09-14 |
| 4559 | HURRICANE LAURA | DR | Hurricane | 2020-08-28 |
| 3538 | TROPICAL STORMS LAURA AND MARCO | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-23 |
| 3527 | TROPICAL STORM CRISTOBAL | EM | Coastal Storm | 2020-06-07 |
| 4484 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-24 |
| 3459 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3416 | TROPICAL STORM BARRY | EM | Coastal Storm | 2019-07-11 |
Show 19 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4345 | TROPICAL STORM HARVEY | DR | Hurricane | 2017-10-16 |
| 3382 | TROPICAL STORM HARVEY | EM | Hurricane | 2017-08-28 |
| 4263 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-03-13 |
| 1792 | HURRICANE IKE | DR | Hurricane | 2008-09-13 |
| 1786 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | DR | Hurricane | 2008-09-02 |
| 3289 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM | Hurricane | 2008-08-29 |
| 1668 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-11-02 |
| 1607 | HURRICANE RITA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-09-24 |
| 3260 | HURRICANE RITA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-21 |
| 1603 | HURRICANE KATRINA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-08-29 |
| 3212 | HURRICANE KATRINA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-08-27 |
| 3172 | LOSS OF SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA | EM | Other | 2003-02-01 |
| 1437 | HURRICANE LILI | DR | Hurricane | 2002-10-03 |
| 2337 | LA-WESTERN LOUISIANA FIRE COMPLEX-9/8/00 | FM | Fire | 2000-09-11 |
| 835 | TROPICAL STORM ALLISON | DR | Flood | 1989-07-17 |
| 833 | SEVERE STORMS & TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1989-06-16 |
| 829 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1989-05-20 |
| 675 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1983-01-11 |
| 3031 | DROUGHT & FREEZING | EM | Snowstorm | 1977-02-22 |
Storm Events in Louisiana
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Vernon Parish.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 3,274 | 12 | 29 | $24.9M |
| Flash Flood | 1,516 | 20 | 17 | $3.9B |
| Hail | 1,224 | 0 | 0 | $49.3M |
| Excessive Heat | 1,183 | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Heat | 1,106 | 5 | 0 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
338
Total Paid
$9.4M
Avg Per Claim
$27.8K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 68.9/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$21.6M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively High
Wildfire Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Hail Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Drought 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 Vernon Parish the two measures on this page point the same way: Hurricane is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively Moderate), 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
Vernon Parish's closest FEMA peer: Butte County, CA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Vernon Parish. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Vernon Parish shows 39 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Vernon Parish: 17 of 39 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Vernon Parish: NRI composite 68.9 (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 Vernon Parish - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Vernon Parish's NFIP claims file (338 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 Vernon Parish?
The most common disaster type in Vernon Parish is Hurricane, with 19 declarations. Other disaster types include Fire (4), Flood (4), Coastal Storm (3).
How does Vernon Parish's FEMA declaration record compare with the Louisiana average?
The typical Louisiana county has 41.4 FEMA declaration records; Vernon Parish has 39, or 6% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 88% higher. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Vernon Parish received?
Vernon Parish has received 17 major disaster declarations, representing 44% of all 39 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Vernon Parish filed?
Vernon Parish has 338 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $9.4M in payments, with an average of $27.8K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Vernon Parish?
No. In Vernon Parish, Hurricane has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $8.9M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Vernon Parish?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Vernon Parish was 2021, with 8 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1977 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Vernon Parish?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Vernon Parish, Louisiana has an overall risk score of 68.9 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively High, while community resilience comes in at Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $21.6M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Vernon Parish?
FEMA's NRI data points to Vernon Parish is Hurricane (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Tornado (Relatively Moderate) and Lightning (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hurricane here at roughly once every 10 years, drawn from 42 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 Vernon Parish
Against a Louisiana county mean of 41 declarations, Vernon Parish, LA records 39, or 6% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as high activity.
- Emergency is the largest group (18 of 39) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Louisiana overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 96% of recorded county totals, but its own Louisiana benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. 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
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.