FEMA Records
29
High volume
Texas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Waller County, TX
29 FEMA disaster declarations (1989-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 29
- FEMA declarations
- 17
- Major disasters
- 70
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Waller County. Its 29 FEMA declarations are 39% above the Texas county mean and exceed the count for 85% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 30%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 30%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 29
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 878
- 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 48473 · Waller County 29 declarations · rank 482/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 29
- MAJOR-MID 59%
- RANK-MID #482
- PHOTO-FINISH Bath
- NRI-LOW 70
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +39%
Nearest declaration peer: Bath, KY (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Texas state profile
Waller County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Waller County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Bath · near 29
Bath · near
29 declarations
- Lenoir · near 29
Lenoir · near
29 declarations
- Waller · this county 29
Waller · this county
29 declarations
- Walthall · near 29
Walthall · near
29 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Waller County carries 29 FEMA declaration records, ranked 482 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Waller County ranks in the national declaration registry
Waller County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Waller County
29 Top 15% higher than 85% 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
Waller County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Waller County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $9.1M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Drought 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 Waller County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 878 claims and $44.0M 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 $50.2K. 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. Waller County's 29 federal records stand 39% above the Texas county mean of 20.9. 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, 70.3/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $23.9M 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. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Drought stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at 26 modeled event-days per year here, based on 917 historical events on record.
73 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Waller County, TX · 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
21/30
29 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.4x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
17/25
29 declarations (1.4x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
17 of 29 declarations are major disasters (59%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Waller County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Waller 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
59%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
70
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Waller 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively High | 26 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 7 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.6 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 569 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 13 modeled event-days per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 69 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 2.6 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 2,062 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 19 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | an average of 1.5 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
Fire 6
Flood 5
Severe Storm 3
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Coastal Storm 1
Drought 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Waller County's federal record, 31% 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 58.6%
of all 29 declarations
Emergency - 11 37.9%
of all 29 declarations
Fire Management - 1 3.4%
of all 29 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 4 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 1 | |
Show 2 earlier declaration years
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 29 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 29 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4798 | HURRICANE BERYL | DR | Hurricane | 2024-07-09 |
| 4781 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2024-05-17 |
| 4586 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-19 |
| 3554 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-14 |
| 3540 | TROPICAL STORMS MARCO AND LAURA | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-24 |
| 4485 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3458 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4332 | HURRICANE HARVEY | DR | Hurricane | 2017-08-25 |
| 4272 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-06-11 |
| 4269 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-04-25 |
| 4223 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-05-29 |
| 4029 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2011-09-09 |
| 2964 | RILEY ROAD FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-09-06 |
| 1791 | HURRICANE IKE | DR | Hurricane | 2008-09-13 |
| 3294 | HURRICANE IKE | EM | Hurricane | 2008-09-10 |
| 3290 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM | Hurricane | 2008-08-29 |
| 3284 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2008-03-14 |
| 1624 | EXTREME WILDFIRE THREAT | DR | Fire | 2006-01-11 |
| 1606 | HURRICANE RITA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-09-24 |
| 3261 | HURRICANE RITA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-21 |
Show 9 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3216 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-02 |
| 1379 | TX-TROPICAL STORM ALLISON-06-06-2001 | DR | Coastal Storm | 2001-06-09 |
| 3142 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARDS | EM | Fire | 1999-09-01 |
| 1257 | TX-FLOODING 10/18/98 | DR | Flood | 1998-10-21 |
| 1239 | TROPICAL STORM CHARLEY | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-08-26 |
| 3117 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | EM | Fire | 1996-02-23 |
| 1041 | SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1994-10-18 |
| 3113 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | EM | Drought | 1993-09-10 |
| 828 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1989-05-19 |
Storm Events in Texas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Waller County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 14,072 | 0 | 15 | $7.4B |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 10,293 | 41 | 141 | $369.9M |
| Drought | 7,032 | 0 | 0 | $86.0K |
| Flash Flood | 4,728 | 338 | 24 | $47.6B |
| Heat | 4,079 | 119 | 405 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
878
Total Paid
$44.0M
Avg Per Claim
$50.2K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 70.3/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$23.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Relatively High
Tornado Relatively High
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Winter Weather 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: Drought
Drought is the slowest of the modeled hazards and the least visible: it does its damage to agriculture, water supply and soil over seasons rather than hours, so it rarely produces the kind of single-day damage that drives a disaster declaration. FEMA scores it in event-days per year rather than discrete events for exactly that reason.
Worth noting for Waller County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Drought 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
Waller County's closest FEMA peer: Klickitat County, WA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Waller County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Waller County shows 29 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Waller County: 17 of 29 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Waller County: NRI composite 70.3 (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 Waller County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Waller 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: 70.3 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 29. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Waller County's NFIP claims file (878 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 Waller County?
The most common disaster type in Waller County is Hurricane, with 9 declarations. Other disaster types include Fire (6), Flood (5), Severe Storm (3).
How does Waller County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Texas average?
FEMA lists 29 declaration records for Waller County. That is 39% above the Texas county mean of 20.9. Its count is also 40% above 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 Waller County received?
Waller County has received 17 major disaster declarations, representing 59% of all 29 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Waller County filed?
Waller County has 878 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $44.0M in payments, with an average of $50.2K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Waller County?
No. In Waller County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $9.1M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Waller County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Waller County was 2008, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1989 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Waller County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Waller County, Texas has an overall risk score of 70.3 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively High and community resilience is Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $23.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Waller County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Waller County is Drought (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Tornado (Relatively High) and Hurricane (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 26 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 917 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Waller County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Texas profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events