FEMA Records
16
Below median
American Samoa · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Western District, AS
16 FEMA disaster declarations (1966-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of null. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 16
- FEMA declarations
- 14
- Major disasters
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 60050 · Western District 16 declarations · rank 2320/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-HEAVY · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-UNK · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-MID 16
- MAJOR-HEAVY 88%
- RANK-LOWER #2,320
- PHOTO-FINISH Greene
- NRI-UNK NRI n/a
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +7%
Nearest declaration peer: Greene, GA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · American Samoa state profile
Western District in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among this county and nearest peers
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Frontier · near 16
Frontier · near
16 declarations
- Greene · near 16
Greene · near
16 declarations
- Terrell · near 16
Terrell · near
16 declarations
- Western · this county 16
Western · this county
16 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Western District carries 16 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2320 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How does Western District compare?
Western District vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
16 27th percentile higher than 27% 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
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Western District is led by Tsunami (about $6.9M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Coastal Flooding carries the highest National Risk Index rating (null). 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 Western District's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
Even the county's top-rated hazard, Coastal Flooding, only reaches on FEMA's scale, none of the 18 modeled hazards stand out here. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 3 years here.
Reading the federal records together
No paid-claim row for this county appears in the NFIP county table used by PlainHazard. That absence is not evidence that flooding never occurred: the register observes claims under federal flood-insurance policies, not uninsured losses, emergency reports, or every flood outside the program. The FEMA declaration history below is therefore the available federal-action record on this page.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Western District's 16 federal records stand 7% above the American Samoa county mean of 15.0. 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.
65 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Western District, AS · 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
16 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.8x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
13/25
16 declarations (1.1x state county average of 15)
Major Disaster Share Very High
22/25
14 of 16 declarations are major disasters (88%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Western District
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Western District
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
88%
Mostly major
County FIPS
60050
AS state code
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Western District?
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. These modeled frequencies are not forecasts.
| Hazard | NRI Risk Rating | Recurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flooding | roughly once every 3 years | |
| Earthquake | roughly once every 129 years | |
| Hurricane | roughly once every 13 years | |
| Riverine Flooding | an average of 3.1 times per year | |
| Tsunami | roughly once every 3 years | |
| Volcanic Activity | roughly once every 3,333 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 5
Typhoon 4
Biological 2
Severe Storm 2
Earthquake 1
Flood 1
Drought 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Western District'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 - 14 87.5%
of all 16 declarations
Emergency - 2 12.5%
of all 16 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 1 | |
| 1981 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
| 1966 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 16 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 16 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4537 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-17 |
| 3465 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4357 | TROPICAL STORM GITA | DR | Hurricane | 2018-03-02 |
| 3397 | TROPICAL STORM GITA | EM | Hurricane | 2018-02-11 |
| 4192 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2014-09-10 |
| 1859 | EARTHQUAKE,TSUNAMI, AND FLOODING | DR | Earthquake | 2009-09-29 |
| 1582 | TC OLAF, INCLUD. HIGH WINDS AND SURF AND HEAVY RAINFALL | DR | Typhoon | 2005-02-18 |
| 1506 | HIGH WINDS, HIGH SURF, AND HEAVY RAINFALL ASSOCIATED WITH TROPCIAL CYCLONE HETA | DR | Typhoon | 2004-01-13 |
| 1473 | HEAVY RAINFALL, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-06-06 |
| 927 | HURRICANE VAL | DR | Hurricane | 1991-12-13 |
| 855 | HURRICANE OFA | DR | Hurricane | 1990-02-09 |
| 785 | HURRICANE TUSI | DR | Hurricane | 1987-01-24 |
| 637 | TYPHOON ESAU | DR | Typhoon | 1981-03-24 |
| 610 | FLOODING, MUDSLIDES & LANDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 1979-11-09 |
| 449 | DROUGHT | DR | Drought | 1974-09-30 |
| 213 | TYPHOON & HIGH TIDES | DR | Typhoon | 1966-02-10 |
Storm Events in American Samoa
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Western District.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 84 | 1 | 3 | $13.6M |
| Heavy Rain | 62 | 0 | 0 | $1.8M |
| High Surf | 41 | 10 | 2 | $285.0K |
| High Wind | 27 | 0 | 0 | $1.1M |
| Strong Wind | 26 | 0 | 0 | $138.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Score: N/A/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$17.5M/year
Social Vulnerability
Data Unavailable
Community Resilience
Data Unavailable
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Coastal Flooding
Earthquake
Hurricane
Riverine Flooding
Tsunami
Volcanic Activity
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: Coastal Flooding
Coastal Flooding is modeled separately from riverine flooding because its driver is different: surge, tide and wave action rather than a watershed draining. It is also the hazard whose baseline is moving, since the same storm rides on a higher starting sea level than it used to.
For Western District the two measures on this page point the same way: Coastal Flooding is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard, 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
Western District's closest FEMA peer: Divide County, ND
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields for Western District. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Western District shows 16 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Western District: 14 of 16 of its declarations are Major.
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 Western District - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Western District: 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 declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 16. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 16 FEMA declarations, Western District 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 Western District?
The most common disaster type in Western District is Hurricane, with 5 declarations. Other disaster types include Typhoon (4), Biological (2), Severe Storm (2).
How does Western District's FEMA declaration record compare with the American Samoa average?
FEMA lists 16 declaration records for Western District. That is 7% above the American Samoa county mean of 15.0. Its count is also 23% below 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 Western District received?
Western District has received 14 major disaster declarations, representing 88% of all 16 disaster declarations.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Western District?
No. In Western District, Coastal Flooding has the highest National Risk Index rating (null), while Tsunami leads Expected Annual Loss at about $6.9M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Western District?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Western District was 2018, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1966 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Western District?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Western District, American Samoa has an overall risk score of N/A out of 100 (null). On social vulnerability the county rates Data Unavailable; on community resilience, Data Unavailable. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $17.5M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Western District?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Western District is Coastal Flooding (risk rating: null). Other significant hazards include Earthquake (null) and Hurricane (null). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts coastal flooding here at roughly once every 3 years. These scores are based on FEMA's analysis of historical event frequency, 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.
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.
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
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.