FEMA Records
17
Below median
Maryland · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Washington County, MD
17 FEMA disaster declarations (1972-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 17
- FEMA declarations
- 10
- Major disasters
- 69
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Washington County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 17 declarations, more than 32% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 13% below the Maryland 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
- 17
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 370
- 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 24043 · Washington County 17 declarations · rank 2073/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-MID 17
- MAJOR-MID 59%
- RANK-LOWER #2,073
- PHOTO-FINISH Curry
- NRI-LOW 69
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-BELOW -13%
Nearest declaration peer: Curry, OR (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Maryland state profile
Washington County among counties with fewer federal records
FEMA declaration records among Washington County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Benton · near 17
Benton · near
17 declarations
- Curry · near 17
Curry · near
17 declarations
- Murray · near 17
Murray · near
17 declarations
- Washington · this county 17
Washington · this county
17 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Washington County carries 17 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2073 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Washington County versus quieter counties in this dataset
Washington County among lower-declaration counties nationally
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Washington County
17 32nd percentile higher than 32% 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
Washington County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Washington County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $14.5M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Drought 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 Washington County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 370 paid claims, totaling $3.9M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $10.6K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
Start with the state benchmark: a Maryland county averages 19.6 federal declaration records, while Washington County has 17. The gap is 13% 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, 68.8/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $26.9M in annualized losses), and a Relatively Moderate social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively High community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Drought carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at 3.2 modeled event-days per year here, based on 119 historical events on record.
53 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Washington County, MD · 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
12/30
17 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.8x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
11/25
17 declarations (0.9x state county average of 20)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
10 of 17 declarations are major disasters (59%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Washington County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Washington 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
69
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Washington 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 Moderate | 3.2 modeled event-days per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 13 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 14 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 3.5 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 975 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.1 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 37 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 6.4 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 3.3 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 8,048 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 1.9 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 5
Snowstorm 4
Flood 3
Biological 2
Severe Storm 2
Winter Storm 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Washington County's federal record, 29% 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 - 10 58.8%
of all 17 declarations
Emergency - 7 41.2%
of all 17 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 2 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 17 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 17 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3634 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 4491 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-26 |
| 3430 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4374 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2018-06-25 |
| 4261 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2016-03-04 |
| 4091 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-11-20 |
| 3349 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-28 |
| 3335 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-27 |
| 1910 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORMS | DR | Snowstorm | 2010-05-06 |
| 3251 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1492 | HURRICANE ISABEL | DR | Hurricane | 2003-09-19 |
| 3179 | SNOW | EM | Severe Storm | 2003-03-14 |
| 1094 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1996-01-23 |
| 1081 | BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM) | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-11 |
| 3100 | SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-16 |
| 489 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1975-10-04 |
| 341 | TROPICAL STORM AGNES | DR | Flood | 1972-06-23 |
Storm Events in Maryland
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Washington County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 3,959 | 6 | 43 | $102.0M |
| Winter Weather | 1,341 | 4 | 26 | $95.0K |
| Flood | 1,089 | 1 | 0 | $1.4M |
| Flash Flood | 790 | 9 | 4 | $96.3M |
| Dense Fog | 513 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
370
Total Paid
$3.9M
Avg Per Claim
$10.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 68.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$26.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Avalanche Very Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively 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 Washington County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Drought carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), 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
Washington County's closest FEMA peer: Athens County, OH
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Washington County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Washington County: NRI composite 68.8 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Washington County: 10 of 17 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Washington County shows 17 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
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 Washington County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Washington 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: 68.8 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 17. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Washington County's NFIP claims file (370 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 Washington County?
The most common disaster type in Washington County is Hurricane, with 5 declarations. Other disaster types include Snowstorm (4), Flood (3), Biological (2).
How does Washington County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Maryland average?
The typical Maryland county has 19.6 FEMA declaration records; Washington County has 17, or 13% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 18% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Washington County received?
Washington County has received 10 major disaster declarations, representing 59% of all 17 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Washington County filed?
Washington County has 370 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $3.9M in payments, with an average of $10.6K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Washington County?
No. In Washington County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $14.5M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Washington County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Washington County was 1996, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1972 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Washington County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Washington County, Maryland has an overall risk score of 68.8 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Moderate, while community resilience comes in at Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $26.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Washington County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Washington County is Drought (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Hurricane (Relatively Moderate) and Winter Weather (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 3.2 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 119 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 Washington County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Maryland profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events