FEMA Records
27
High volume
West Virginia · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Wetzel County, WV
27 FEMA disaster declarations (1972-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 27
- FEMA declarations
- 21
- Major disasters
- 57
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Wetzel County. Its 27 FEMA declarations are 12% above the West Virginia 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 43%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 43%
- 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
- 498
- 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 54103 · Wetzel County 27 declarations · rank 618/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 27
- MAJOR-MID 78%
- RANK-MID #618
- PHOTO-FINISH Greene
- NRI-LOW 57
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Severe Storm
- VS-ST-ABOVE +12%
Nearest declaration peer: Greene, MO (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · West Virginia state profile
Wetzel County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Wetzel 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
- Wetzel · this county 27
Wetzel · this county
27 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Wetzel County carries 27 FEMA declaration records, ranked 618 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Wetzel County ranks in the national declaration registry
Wetzel County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Wetzel 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
Wetzel County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Wetzel County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $15.2M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Landslide 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 Wetzel County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 498 paid claims, totaling $6.4M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $12.8K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Wetzel County's 27 federal records stand 12% above the West Virginia county mean of 24.2. 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, 56.9/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $16.2M in annualized losses), and a Relatively High social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively High community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Landslide carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 1 years here.
71 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Wetzel County, WV · 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 24)
Major Disaster Share Very High
19/25
21 of 27 declarations are major disasters (78%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Wetzel County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Wetzel 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
78%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
57
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Wetzel 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 43 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 45 times per year |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 2.4 times per year |
| Drought | Very Low | 3 modeled event-days per year |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 2.5 modeled event-days per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 2,028 years |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | an average of 2.5 times per year |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 17 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 16,999 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | an average of 8.5 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 11
Flood 7
Snowstorm 3
Biological 2
Hurricane 2
Winter Storm 1
Mud/Landslide 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Wetzel County's record, 41% 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 - 21 77.8%
of all 27 declarations
Emergency - 6 22.2%
of all 27 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 2 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
Show 4 earlier declaration years
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 3 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3639 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 4787 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2024-05-24 |
| 4783 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-05-22 |
| 4517 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-03 |
| 3450 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4359 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Mud/Landslide | 2018-04-17 |
| 4331 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2017-08-18 |
| 4220 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2015-05-18 |
| 4210 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-03-31 |
| 3358 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-29 |
| 4071 | SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-07-23 |
| 3345 | SEVERE STORMS | EM | Severe Storm | 2012-06-30 |
| 1903 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORMS | DR | Snowstorm | 2010-04-23 |
| 1769 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES, AND | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-06-19 |
| 3221 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-05 |
| 1574 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-02-01 |
| 1558 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-09-20 |
| 1500 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-11-21 |
| 1455 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, RECORD/NEAR RECORD SNOW, HEAVY RAINS, FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-03-14 |
| 1319 | FLOODING, SEVERE STORMS, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2000-02-28 |
Show 7 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1229 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-07-01 |
| 1168 | HEAVY & WIND DRIVEN RAIN, HIGH WINDS,FLOODING,SLIDES | DR | Flood | 1997-03-07 |
| 1115 | FLOODING, HEAVY WINDS | DR | Flood | 1996-05-23 |
| 1096 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1996-01-25 |
| 1084 | BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM) | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-13 |
| 3109 | SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-17 |
| 344 | TROPICAL STORM AGNES | DR | Flood | 1972-07-03 |
Storm Events in West Virginia
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Wetzel County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 3,644 | 4 | 9 | $16.4M |
| Winter Weather | 1,939 | 0 | 22 | $1.3M |
| Flood | 1,127 | 13 | 0 | $109.0M |
| Flash Flood | 1,003 | 33 | 1 | $141.5M |
| Hail | 757 | 1 | 0 | $6.5M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
498
Total Paid
$6.4M
Avg Per Claim
$12.8K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 56.9/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$16.2M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Very Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Avalanche Very Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Hail Very Low
Drought Very Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Wildfire 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: Landslide
Landslide risk is a function of slope, soil and water, so it is usually a SECOND-ORDER hazard: it is triggered by the rainfall, snowmelt, wildfire burn scars or seismic shaking that came first. That is why a county can carry high landslide exposure whose realized damage is recorded under a flood or storm declaration instead.
Worth noting for Wetzel County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Landslide 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
Wetzel County's closest FEMA peer: Jasper County, MS
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Wetzel County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Wetzel County shows 27 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Wetzel County: 21 of 27 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Wetzel County: NRI composite 56.9 (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 Wetzel County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Wetzel 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: 56.9 (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
Understanding disaster data
Wetzel County's NFIP claims file (498 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 Wetzel County?
The most common disaster type in Wetzel County is Severe Storm, with 11 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (7), Snowstorm (3), Biological (2).
How does Wetzel County's FEMA declaration record compare with the West Virginia average?
FEMA lists 27 declaration records for Wetzel County. That is 12% above the West Virginia county mean of 24.2. 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 Wetzel County received?
Wetzel County has received 21 major disaster declarations, representing 78% of all 27 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Wetzel County filed?
Wetzel County has 498 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $6.4M in payments, with an average of $12.8K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Wetzel County?
No. In Wetzel County, Landslide has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $15.2M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Wetzel County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Wetzel County was 1996, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1972 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Wetzel County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Wetzel County, West Virginia has an overall risk score of 56.9 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively High, while community resilience comes in at Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $16.2M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Wetzel County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Wetzel County as of the latest release is Landslide (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Riverine Flooding (Relatively Moderate) and Hurricane (Very Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts landslide here at roughly once every 1 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.
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 Wetzel County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · West Virginia profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events