FEMA Records
27
High volume
Missouri · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Washington County, MO
27 FEMA disaster declarations (1973-2025), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 27
- FEMA declarations
- 19
- Major disasters
- 68
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Washington County. Its 27 FEMA declarations are 10% above the Missouri county mean and exceed the count for 78% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 32%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 32%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 27
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 38
- 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 29221 · Washington County 27 declarations · rank 677/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 27
- MAJOR-MID 70%
- RANK-MID #677
- PHOTO-FINISH Greene
- NRI-LOW 68
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +10%
Nearest declaration peer: Greene, MO (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Missouri state profile
Washington County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Washington County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Coal · near 27
Coal · near
27 declarations
- Greene · near 27
Greene · near
27 declarations
- Warren · near 27
Warren · near
27 declarations
- Washington · this county 27
Washington · this county
27 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Washington County carries 27 FEMA declaration records, ranked 677 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Washington County ranks in the national declaration registry
Washington County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Washington County
27 Top 22% higher than 78% 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
What does Washington County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 67.8/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $19.9M 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, Heat Wave carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at 11 modeled event-days per year here, based on 143 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 38 claims and $264.8K 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.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Washington County's 27 federal records stand 10% above the Missouri county mean of 24.6. 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.
67 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Washington County, MO · 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
20/30
27 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.3x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
14/25
27 declarations (1.1x state county average of 25)
Major Disaster Share High
18/25
19 of 27 declarations are major disasters (70%)
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
70%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
68
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 11 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 199 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | an average of 2.3 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 4.5 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 750 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 4.7 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 54 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 8.7 times per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 55 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 2.5 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
Severe Storm 16
Flood 5
Biological 2
Severe Ice Storm 2
Hurricane 1
Drought 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Washington County's record, 59% of its declarations. In FEMA's vocabulary this covers convective weather: thunderstorm straight-line winds, large hail, and the multi-day outbreaks that often carry embedded tornadoes. Activity is heaviest in spring and summer, though the season varies by region.
These events behave differently from a hurricane on paper. Damage tends to be distributed along a storm track rather than concentrated on a coastline, and a declaration typically follows an outbreak that crossed several counties over a few days, not a single point of impact. Because the qualifying threshold is the cost of uninsured public and individual losses rather than storm intensity, two similar storms can produce a declaration in one year and none in another.
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 - 19 70.4%
of all 27 declarations
Emergency - 8 29.6%
of all 27 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 2 | |
Show 3 earlier declaration years
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 27 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 27 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4876 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2025-06-09 |
| 4872 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2025-05-21 |
| 4855 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2025-01-01 |
| 4490 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-26 |
| 3482 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4317 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2017-06-02 |
| 4250 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-01-21 |
| 3374 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | EM | Flood | 2016-01-02 |
| 4238 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-08-07 |
| 1980 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-05-09 |
| 3317 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2011-02-03 |
| 1847 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-06-19 |
| 3303 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2009-01-30 |
| 1749 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-03-19 |
| 3281 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2007-12-12 |
| 1673 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-12-29 |
| 3267 | SEVERE STORMS | EM | Severe Storm | 2006-07-21 |
| 1631 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-03-16 |
| 3232 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-10 |
| 1463 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-05-06 |
Show 7 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1412 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2002-05-06 |
| 1328 | SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND FLASH FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2000-05-12 |
| 1023 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1994-04-21 |
| 1006 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1993-12-01 |
| 995 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-07-09 |
| 3017 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1976-09-24 |
| 372 | HEAVY RAINS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1973-04-19 |
Storm Events in Missouri
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Washington County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 6,391 | 30 | 52 | $63.4M |
| Hail | 4,411 | 0 | 1 | $86.1M |
| Flash Flood | 2,399 | 47 | 14 | $406.6M |
| Flood | 1,810 | 25 | 7 | $304.6M |
| Drought | 1,033 | 0 | 350 | $53.6M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
38
Total Paid
$264.8K
Avg Per Claim
$7.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 67.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$19.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Landslide Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Drought 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: Heat Wave
Heat Wave is measured in event-days per year rather than discrete events, and it is the hazard whose harm is most consistently undercounted: its toll is health and mortality, concentrated among people without cooling, rather than visible damage to property.
Worth noting for Washington County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Heat Wave carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), while the county's declaration history is led by Severe Storm. 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: Greenbrier County, WV
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Washington County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Washington County shows 27 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Washington County: 19 of 27 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Washington County: NRI composite 67.8 (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 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: 67.8 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 27. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 27 FEMA declarations, Washington 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).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Washington County?
The most common disaster type in Washington County is Severe Storm, with 16 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (5), Biological (2), Severe Ice Storm (2).
How does Washington County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Missouri average?
FEMA lists 27 declaration records for Washington County. That is 10% above the Missouri county mean of 24.6. Its count is also 30% 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 Washington County received?
Washington County has received 19 major disaster declarations, representing 70% of all 27 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Washington County filed?
Washington County has 38 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $264.8K in payments, with an average of $7.0K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Washington County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Washington County was 2025, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1973 to 2025.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Washington County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Washington County, Missouri has an overall risk score of 67.8 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 $19.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Washington County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Washington County as of the latest release is Heat Wave (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Cold Wave (Relatively Moderate) and Earthquake (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts heat wave here at 11 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 143 historical events on record. The underlying methodology weighs historical event frequency against 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Washington County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Missouri profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events