FEMA Records
24
Above median
Texas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Wichita County, TX
24 FEMA disaster declarations (1979-2022), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Fire.
- 24
- FEMA declarations
- 12
- Major disasters
- 82
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Fire
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Wichita County. Its 24 FEMA declarations are 15% above the Texas county mean and exceed the count for 66% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 18%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 18%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 24
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 1,295
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Fire Management Assistance (FM) records, which are not presidential disaster declarations, alongside Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 48485 · Wichita County 24 declarations · rank 948/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-MID · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 24
- MAJOR-MID 50%
- RANK-LOWER #948
- PHOTO-FINISH Eddy
- NRI-MID 82
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Fire
- VS-ST-ABOVE +15%
Nearest declaration peer: Eddy, ND (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Texas state profile
Wichita County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Wichita County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Deuel · near 24
Deuel · near
24 declarations
- Eddy · near 24
Eddy · near
24 declarations
- Montgomery · near 24
Montgomery · near
24 declarations
- Wichita · this county 24
Wichita · this county
24 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Wichita County carries 24 FEMA declaration records, ranked 948 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Wichita County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Wichita County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Wichita County
24 Top 34% higher than 66% 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
Wichita County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Wichita County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $17.5M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Hail carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively 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 Wichita County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 1,295 claims and $19.9M 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 $15.4K. 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. Wichita County's 24 federal records stand 15% above the Texas county mean of 20.9. 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 sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 81.9/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Low (roughly $39.7M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively High and community resilience Relatively Moderate, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Hail stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 9 times per year here, based on 341 historical events on record.
64 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Wichita County, TX · 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
17/30
24 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.2x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
14/25
24 declarations (1.1x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share High
13/25
12 of 24 declarations are major disasters (50%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Wichita County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Wichita 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
50%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
82
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Wichita 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hail | Relatively High | an average of 9 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively High | 102 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 16 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 165 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 7.1 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 3.5 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1,009 years |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 50 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 13 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Fire 9
Severe Storm 5
Hurricane 3
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Drought 1
Flood 1
Tornado 1
What Fire declarations mean here
Fire is the most frequent declaration type on Wichita County's record, 38% of its declarations. Wildfire is the one hazard here with its own dedicated federal instrument: the Fire Management Assistance Grant, which appears in this data as an FM record. An FMAG can be authorised while a fire is still burning, on a timescale of hours, because its purpose is to reimburse the cost of fighting a fire that threatens to become a major disaster.
That distinction matters when comparing counties. An FM declaration is not a presidential major disaster declaration and does not carry the same assistance programmes, so a fire-heavy county's total is not directly comparable with a hurricane-heavy county's total unless the declaration types are separated, which is why they are listed separately on this page.
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 - 12 50.0%
of all 24 declarations
Emergency - 8 33.3%
of all 24 declarations
Fire Management - 4 16.7%
of all 24 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 3 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
Show 3 earlier declaration years
| 1989 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 24 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 24 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5420 | COUNTY LINE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-12-10 |
| 4586 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-19 |
| 3554 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-14 |
| 4485 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3458 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4223 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-05-29 |
| 1999 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2011-07-01 |
| 2905 | SISK ROAD FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-04-30 |
| 2891 | WICHITA FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2011-04-15 |
| 2805 | ELECTRA WEST FIRE | FM | Fire | 2009-04-10 |
| 3284 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2008-03-14 |
| 1709 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-06-29 |
| 1624 | EXTREME WILDFIRE THREAT | DR | Fire | 2006-01-11 |
| 1606 | HURRICANE RITA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-09-24 |
| 3261 | HURRICANE RITA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-21 |
| 3216 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-02 |
| 3142 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARDS | EM | Fire | 1999-09-01 |
| 1239 | TROPICAL STORM CHARLEY | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-08-26 |
| 3117 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | EM | Fire | 1996-02-23 |
| 3113 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | EM | Drought | 1993-09-10 |
Show 4 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 863 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1990-05-02 |
| 828 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1989-05-19 |
| 659 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1982-05-25 |
| 575 | SEVERE STORMS & TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1979-04-11 |
Storm Events in Texas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Wichita County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 14,072 | 0 | 15 | $7.4B |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 10,293 | 41 | 141 | $369.9M |
| Drought | 7,032 | 0 | 0 | $86.0K |
| Flash Flood | 4,728 | 338 | 24 | $47.6B |
| Heat | 4,079 | 119 | 405 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
1,295
Total Paid
$19.9M
Avg Per Claim
$15.4K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 81.9/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$39.7M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hail Relatively High
Drought Relatively High
Tornado Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively High
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Landslide 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: Hail
Hail is among the most expensive hazards in the model relative to how little it threatens life. It concentrates on roofs, vehicles and crops, and a single severe storm can generate an insurance loss across a metropolitan area without a single injury.
Worth noting for Wichita County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Hail carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Fire. 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
Wichita County's closest FEMA peer: San Juan Municipio, PR
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Wichita County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Wichita County shows 24 FEMA declarations, led by Fire.
Similar Major-disaster share
Wichita County: 12 of 24 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Wichita County: NRI composite 81.9 (Relatively Moderate).
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 Wichita County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Wichita 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: 81.9 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 24. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Wichita County's NFIP claims file (1,295 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 Wichita County?
The most common disaster type in Wichita County is Fire, with 9 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (5), Hurricane (3), Severe Ice Storm (2).
How does Wichita County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Texas average?
FEMA lists 24 declaration records for Wichita County. That is 15% above the Texas county mean of 20.9. Its count is also 16% 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 Wichita County received?
Wichita County has received 12 major disaster declarations, representing 50% of all 24 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Wichita County filed?
Wichita County has 1,295 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $19.9M in payments, with an average of $15.4K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Wichita County?
No. In Wichita County, Hail has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $17.5M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Wichita County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Wichita County was 2005, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1979 to 2022.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Wichita County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Wichita County, Texas has an overall risk score of 81.9 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively High, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $39.7M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Wichita County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Wichita County as of the latest release is Hail (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Drought (Relatively High) and Tornado (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hail here at an average of 9 times per year, drawn from 341 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Wichita County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Texas profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events