FEMA Records
32
Very high volume
New York · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Westchester County, NY
32 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 32
- FEMA declarations
- 21
- Major disasters
- 96
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Westchester County. Its 32 FEMA declarations are 30% above the New York county mean and exceed the count for 89% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 4%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 4%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 32
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 12,246
- 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 Westchester County compare?
Westchester County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
32 Top 11% higher than 89% 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
Westchester County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the New York county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Westchester County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $147.9M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Strong Wind carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Very 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 Westchester County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 12,246 claims and $272.8M 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 $22.3K. 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. Westchester County's 32 federal records stand 30% above the New York county mean of 24.5. 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 sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 96.2/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $209.8M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Moderate and community resilience Relatively High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Strong Wind stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 5 times per year here, based on 189 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 32 entries for Westchester County, including 21 Major Disaster records, 30% above the New York county mean. Across the 59-year span, that works out to 0.5 declarations a year. Hurricane leads the file with 11 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
75 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Westchester County, NY · 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
23/30
32 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.5x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
16/25
32 declarations (1.3x state county average of 25)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
21 of 32 declarations are major disasters (66%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Westchester County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. New York Avg
+30%
State avg: 24.5
vs. National Avg
+54%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.5
Over 59 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Westchester 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
66%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
96
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Westchester 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind | Very High | an average of 5 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 4.1 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Very High | an average of 13 times per year |
| Lightning | Very High | an average of 29 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 6.2 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 602 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | an average of 1 time per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively High | roughly once every 7 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 5.4 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 6 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 5,698 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 2.3 times per year |
| Drought | Very Low | 1 modeled event-day per year |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 11
Flood 6
Severe Storm 6
Snowstorm 3
Biological 2
Other 2
Fire 1
Drought 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Westchester County's federal record, 34% 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 - 21 65.6%
of all 32 declarations
Emergency - 11 34.4%
of all 32 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 4 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 2 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
Show 6 earlier declaration years
| 1993 | 2 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
| 1971 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 32 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 32 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4755 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2024-01-30 |
| 4615 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR | Hurricane | 2021-09-05 |
| 3572 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | EM | Hurricane | 2021-09-02 |
| 3565 | HURRICANE HENRI | EM | Hurricane | 2021-08-22 |
| 4567 | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | DR | Hurricane | 2020-10-02 |
| 4480 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-20 |
| 3434 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4085 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-10-30 |
| 3351 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-28 |
| 4020 | HURRICANE IRENE | DR | Hurricane | 2011-08-31 |
| 3328 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-26 |
| 1899 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-04-16 |
| 1692 | SEVERE STORMS AND INLAND AND COASTAL FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-04-24 |
| 1650 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-07-01 |
| 3262 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-30 |
| 1589 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-04-19 |
| 1534 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-08-03 |
| 3186 | POWER OUTAGE | EM | Other | 2003-08-23 |
| 3184 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-03-27 |
| 1391 | FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS | DR | Fire | 2001-09-11 |
Show 12 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3155 | WEST NILE VIRUS | EM | Other | 2000-10-11 |
| 1296 | HURRICANE FLOYD MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATIONS | DR | Hurricane | 1999-09-19 |
| 3149 | HURRICANE FLOYD EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS | EM | Hurricane | 1999-09-18 |
| 1146 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, HEAVY RAINS, HIGH WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 1996-11-19 |
| 1083 | BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM) | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-12 |
| 3107 | SEVERE BLIZZARD | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-17 |
| 974 | COASTAL STORM, HIGH TIDES, HEAVY RAIN, & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1992-12-21 |
| 702 | COASTAL STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1984-04-17 |
| 487 | STORMS, RAINS, LANDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1975-10-02 |
| 338 | TROPICAL STORM AGNES | DR | Flood | 1972-06-23 |
| 311 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1971-09-13 |
| 204 | WATER SHORTAGE | DR | Drought | 1965-08-18 |
Storm Events in New York
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Westchester County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 8,295 | 6 | 45 | $45.0M |
| Winter Weather | 2,261 | 7 | 17 | $705.5K |
| Flash Flood | 1,775 | 23 | 3 | $674.3M |
| Strong Wind | 1,399 | 2 | 12 | $9.2M |
| Winter Storm | 1,228 | 13 | 2 | $4.9M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
12,246
Total Paid
$272.8M
Avg Per Claim
$22.3K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 96.2/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$209.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Strong Wind Very High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Winter Weather Very High
Lightning Very High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively High
Hurricane Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively High
Coastal Flooding Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Very Low
Hail Very Low
Drought Very Low
Avalanche 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: Strong Wind
Strong Wind covers damaging non-thunderstorm, non-tornadic wind, the kind produced by steep pressure gradients and downslope events. It is a broad, frequent, low-drama hazard: roofs, signage, power lines and high-profile vehicles, spread across a wide area rather than concentrated on a path.
Worth noting for Westchester County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Strong Wind carries the highest modeled rating (Very 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
Westchester County's closest FEMA peer: Trinity County, CA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Westchester County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Westchester County shows 32 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Westchester County: 21 of 32 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Westchester County: NRI composite 96.2 (Relatively High).
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 Westchester County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Westchester County's NFIP claims file (12,246 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 Westchester County?
The most common disaster type in Westchester County is Hurricane, with 11 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (6), Severe Storm (6), Snowstorm (3).
How does Westchester County's FEMA declaration record compare with the New York average?
FEMA lists 32 declaration records for Westchester County. That is 30% above the New York county mean of 24.5. Its count is also 54% 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 Westchester County received?
Westchester County has received 21 major disaster declarations, representing 66% of all 32 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Westchester County filed?
Westchester County has 12,246 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $272.8M in payments, with an average of $22.3K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Westchester County?
No. In Westchester County, Strong Wind has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $147.9M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Westchester County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Westchester County was 2021, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Westchester County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Westchester County, New York has an overall risk score of 96.2 out of 100 (Relatively High). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Moderate, while community resilience comes in at Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $209.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Westchester County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Westchester County as of the latest release is Strong Wind (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Riverine Flooding (Relatively High) and Winter Weather (Very High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts strong wind here at an average of 5 times per year, drawn from 189 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.
What this means for Westchester County
Westchester County, NY has 32 federal declaration records, 30% more than the New York county mean of 25; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 21 of 32 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. New York overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the New York mean and the totals for 89% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- The large NFIP claims file and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records; the guide explains where they overlap and where they do not. 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.