FEMA Records
24
Above median
Vermont · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Windham County, VT
24 FEMA disaster declarations (1969-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 24
- FEMA declarations
- 18
- Major disasters
- 57
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Windham County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 24 declarations, more than 66% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 17% below the Vermont county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 43%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 43%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 24
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 312
- 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 50025 · Windham County 24 declarations · rank 1012/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-HEAVY 24
- MAJOR-MID 75%
- RANK-LOWER #1,012
- PHOTO-FINISH Eddy
- NRI-LOW 57
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Flood
- VS-ST-BELOW -17%
Nearest declaration peer: Eddy, ND (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Vermont state profile
Windham County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Windham 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
- Wichita · near 24
Wichita · near
24 declarations
- Windham · this county 24
Windham · this county
24 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Windham County carries 24 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1012 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Windham County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Windham County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Windham 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
Windham County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Windham County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $14.7M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Landslide carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Low). 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 Windham County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 312 paid claims, totaling $10.9M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $35.0K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
Start with the state benchmark: a Vermont county averages 28.8 federal declaration records, while Windham County has 24. The gap is 17% below that mean. Fewer entries indicate a quieter history of recorded federal actions, not immunity from a hazard and not a prediction about what happens next.
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 $20.3M in annualized losses), and a Relatively Low social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively High community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Even the county's top-rated hazard, Landslide, only reaches Relatively Low on FEMA's scale, none of the 18 modeled hazards stand out here. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 1.6 times per year here.
64 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Windham County, VT · 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 Moderate
10/25
24 declarations (0.8x state county average of 29)
Major Disaster Share Very High
19/25
18 of 24 declarations are major disasters (75%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Windham County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Windham 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
75%
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 Windham 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 Low | an average of 1.6 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 16 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.9 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 3.8 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 23 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,071 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 23 times per year |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 1.3 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 2.6 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 56,749 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 8
Flood 8
Hurricane 3
Biological 2
Tropical Storm 1
Severe Ice Storm 1
Snowstorm 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Windham County's record, 33% 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 - 18 75.0%
of all 24 declarations
Emergency - 6 25.0%
of all 24 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 2 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
Show 2 earlier declaration years
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3609 | TROPICAL DEPRESSION DEBBY | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-08 |
| 4762 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-03-02 |
| 4720 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2023-07-14 |
| 3595 | FLOODING | EM | Flood | 2023-07-10 |
| 4621 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2021-09-29 |
| 3567 | TROPICAL STORM HENRI | EM | Hurricane | 2021-08-22 |
| 4532 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-08 |
| 3437 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4356 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2018-01-02 |
| 4043 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-11-08 |
| 4022 | TROPICAL STORM IRENE | DR | Hurricane | 2011-09-01 |
| 3338 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-29 |
| 1816 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2009-01-14 |
| 1698 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-05-04 |
| 1559 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-09-23 |
| 1488 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-09-12 |
| 3167 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2001-04-10 |
| 1336 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-07-27 |
| 1307 | TROPICAL STORM FLOYD | DR | Severe Storm | 1999-11-10 |
| 1124 | EXTREME RAINFALL AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1996-06-27 |
Show 4 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1101 | ICE JAMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1996-02-13 |
| 518 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH WINDS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1976-08-05 |
| 397 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, & LANDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 1973-07-06 |
| 277 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1969-08-30 |
Storm Events in Vermont
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Windham County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather | 882 | 7 | 0 | $2.8M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 694 | 3 | 4 | $7.1M |
| Winter Storm | 646 | 1 | 0 | $5.0M |
| Strong Wind | 352 | 0 | 0 | $5.7M |
| Flash Flood | 170 | 5 | 1 | $190.0M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
312
Total Paid
$10.9M
Avg Per Claim
$35.0K
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
$20.3M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Landslide Relatively Low
Hurricane Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Avalanche Very Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Hail Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Drought No Rating
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 Windham County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Landslide carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Low), 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
Windham County's closest FEMA peer: Barton County, MO
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Windham County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Windham County shows 24 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
Similar Major-disaster share
Windham County: 18 of 24 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Windham 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 Windham County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Windham 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: 24. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Windham County's NFIP claims file (312 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 Windham County?
The most common disaster type in Windham County is Flood, with 8 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (8), Hurricane (3), Biological (2).
How does Windham County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Vermont average?
The typical Vermont county has 28.8 FEMA declaration records; Windham County has 24, or 17% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 16% higher. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Windham County received?
Windham County has received 18 major disaster declarations, representing 75% of all 24 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Windham County filed?
Windham County has 312 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $10.9M in payments, with an average of $35.0K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Windham County?
No. In Windham County, Landslide has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Low), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $14.7M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Windham County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Windham County was 1996, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1969 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Windham County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Windham County, Vermont has an overall risk score of 56.9 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Low, while community resilience comes in at Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $20.3M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Windham County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Windham County as of the latest release is Landslide (risk rating: Relatively Low). Other significant hazards include Hurricane (Relatively Low) and Ice Storm (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts landslide here at an average of 1.6 times per year. 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Windham County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Vermont profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events