FEMA Records
14
Low volume
Illinois · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Whiteside County, IL
14 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 14
- FEMA declarations
- 11
- Major disasters
- 66
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Whiteside County. Its 14 FEMA declarations are 9% above the Illinois county mean and exceed the count for 20% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 34%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 34%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 14
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 287
- 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 Whiteside County compare?
Whiteside County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
14 20th percentile higher than 20% 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
Whiteside County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Illinois county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Whiteside County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $12.8M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), 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 Whiteside County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 287 paid claims, totaling $2.3M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $8.0K 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. Whiteside County's 14 federal records stand 9% above the Illinois county mean of 12.9. 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, 65.8/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $24.6M in annualized losses), and a Relatively Moderate social-vulnerability profile combined with Very 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 11 modeled event-days per year here, based on 308 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 14 entries for Whiteside County, including 11 Major Disaster records, 9% above the Illinois county mean. Across the 55-year span, that works out to 0.3 declarations a year. Flood leads the file with 7 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
59 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Whiteside County, IL · 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
10/30
14 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.7x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
14/25
14 declarations (1.1x state county average of 13)
Major Disaster Share Very High
20/25
11 of 14 declarations are major disasters (79%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Whiteside County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Illinois Avg
+9%
State avg: 12.9
vs. National Avg
-32%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.3
Over 55 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Whiteside 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
79%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
66
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Whiteside 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 | 11 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 5.9 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 6.1 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.9 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 16 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 791 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 41 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 5.9 modeled event-days per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 131 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 15,586 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 7
Biological 2
Snowstorm 2
Severe Storm 1
Hurricane 1
Tornado 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Whiteside County's record, 50% of its declarations. Federal flood declarations cover two mechanisms that behave very differently: riverine flooding, which builds over days as a watershed drains and is usually forecast well in advance, and flash flooding, which can arrive in under an hour from rainfall that fell somewhere upstream.
Flood is also the one hazard class where a second federal dataset exists for the same events. The National Flood Insurance Program records what was actually paid on insured losses, so it measures a narrower thing than the declaration count: uninsured damage, and flooding outside mapped special flood hazard areas, never enters it. Reading the two together is more informative than either alone.
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 - 11 78.6%
of all 14 declarations
Emergency - 3 21.4%
of all 14 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 14 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 14 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4489 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-26 |
| 3435 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4461 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2019-09-19 |
| 4116 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2013-05-10 |
| 1960 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2011-03-17 |
| 1771 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-06-24 |
| 3230 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-07 |
| 1368 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2001-05-09 |
| 997 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-07-09 |
| 3068 | BLIZZARDS & SNOWSTORMS | EM | Snowstorm | 1979-01-16 |
| 438 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-06-10 |
| 373 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-04-26 |
| 262 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-06-06 |
| 194 | TORNADOES, SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 1965-04-25 |
Storm Events in Illinois
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Whiteside County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,218 | 9 | 67 | $46.0M |
| Hail | 3,195 | 0 | 0 | $27.1M |
| Winter Weather | 1,363 | 14 | 49 | $1.8M |
| Flood | 1,221 | 14 | 11 | $84.3M |
| Flash Flood | 1,133 | 11 | 3 | $1.1B |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
287
Total Paid
$2.3M
Avg Per Claim
$8.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 65.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$24.6M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively High
Hail Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Wildfire 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: 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 Whiteside 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 Flood. 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
Whiteside County's closest FEMA peer: Putnam County, TN
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Whiteside County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Whiteside County: NRI composite 65.8 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Whiteside County: 11 of 14 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Whiteside County shows 14 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
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 Whiteside County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Whiteside County's NFIP claims file (287 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 Whiteside County?
The most common disaster type in Whiteside County is Flood, with 7 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Snowstorm (2), Severe Storm (1).
How does Whiteside County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Illinois average?
FEMA lists 14 declaration records for Whiteside County. That is 9% above the Illinois county mean of 12.9. Its count is also 32% 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 Whiteside County received?
Whiteside County has received 11 major disaster declarations, representing 79% of all 14 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Whiteside County filed?
Whiteside County has 287 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $2.3M in payments, with an average of $8.0K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Whiteside County?
No. In Whiteside County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $12.8M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Whiteside County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Whiteside County was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Whiteside County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Whiteside County, Illinois has an overall risk score of 65.8 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Moderate, while community resilience comes in at Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $24.6M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Whiteside County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Whiteside County as of the latest release is Drought (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Strong Wind (Relatively High) and Hail (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 11 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 308 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.
What this means for Whiteside County
Whiteside County, IL has 14 federal declaration records, 9% more than the Illinois county mean of 13; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 11 of 14 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. Illinois overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the Illinois mean and the totals for 20% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- Use the data guide to separate this mid-volume insurance-claims file from declaration counts and modeled NRI risk. 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.