FEMA Records
17
Below median
Texas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Wood County, TX
17 FEMA disaster declarations (1998-2021), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 17
- FEMA declarations
- 7
- Major disasters
- 63
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Wood County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 17 declarations, more than 32% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 19% below the Texas county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 37%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 37%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 17
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 11
- 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 48499 · Wood County 17 declarations · rank 2149/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-LIGHT · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-MID 17
- MAJOR-LIGHT 41%
- RANK-LOWER #2,149
- PHOTO-FINISH Curry
- NRI-LOW 63
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-BELOW -19%
Nearest declaration peer: Curry, OR (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Texas state profile
Wood County among counties with fewer federal records
FEMA declaration records among Wood County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Curry · near 17
Curry · near
17 declarations
- Murray · near 17
Murray · near
17 declarations
- Washington · near 17
Washington · near
17 declarations
- Wood · this county 17
Wood · this county
17 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Wood County carries 17 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2149 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Wood County versus quieter counties in this dataset
Wood County among lower-declaration counties nationally
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Wood County
17 32nd percentile higher than 32% 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
Wood County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Wood County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $5.8M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Ice Storm carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Very 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 Wood County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 63.2/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $15.2M in annualized losses), and a Very High social-vulnerability profile combined with Relatively Low community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Ice Storm stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 1.2 times per year here, based on 82 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 11 claims and $154.5K paid in total. PlainHazard calls 1-49 claims a light registry record, a label for this dataset rather than a finding that flood exposure is low. A short claims history can also reflect insurance take-up, the period covered, or losses that were never insured.
Start with the state benchmark: a Texas county averages 20.9 federal declaration records, while Wood County has 17. The gap is 19% 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.
50 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Wood 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) Moderate
12/30
17 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.8x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
10/25
17 declarations (0.8x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share Moderate
10/25
7 of 17 declarations are major disasters (41%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Wood County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Wood 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
41%
Mixed major share
NRI risk score
63
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Wood 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ice Storm | Very High | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 4.6 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 5.1 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 18 modeled event-days per year |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 28 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1 time per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 872 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 3.4 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 54 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 58 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 978 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 6 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 5
Fire 4
Severe Ice Storm 3
Biological 2
Flood 1
Other 1
Severe Storm 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Wood County's federal record, 29% 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).
Emergency - 9 52.9%
of all 17 declarations
Major Disaster - 7 41.2%
of all 17 declarations
Fire Management - 1 5.9%
of all 17 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 17 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 17 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4586 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-19 |
| 3554 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-14 |
| 3540 | TROPICAL STORMS MARCO AND LAURA | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-24 |
| 4485 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3458 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4269 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-04-25 |
| 3294 | HURRICANE IKE | EM | Hurricane | 2008-09-10 |
| 3284 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2008-03-14 |
| 1624 | EXTREME WILDFIRE THREAT | DR | Fire | 2006-01-11 |
| 2614 | HAWKINS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2006-01-08 |
| 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 |
| 3171 | LOSS OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA | EM | Other | 2003-02-01 |
| 1356 | SEVERE WINTER ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2001-01-08 |
| 3142 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARDS | EM | Fire | 1999-09-01 |
| 1239 | TROPICAL STORM CHARLEY | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-08-26 |
Storm Events in Texas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Wood 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
11
Total Paid
$154.5K
Avg Per Claim
$14.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 63.2/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$15.2M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Ice Storm Very High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Hail Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Tornado Relatively 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: Ice Storm
Ice storms load power lines and tree limbs with accumulating freezing rain until they fail. The characteristic cost is infrastructure and multi-day power loss across a wide area rather than structural damage to buildings, which is why their consequences often outlast the weather that caused them.
Worth noting for Wood County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Ice Storm carries the highest modeled rating (Very High), while the county's declaration history is led by Hurricane. 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
Wood County's closest FEMA peer: Arkansas County, AR
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Wood County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Wood County: NRI composite 63.2 (Relatively Low).
Similar Major-disaster share
Wood County: 7 of 17 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Wood County shows 17 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
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 Wood County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Wood 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: 63.2 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 17. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 17 FEMA declarations, Wood County 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 Wood County?
The most common disaster type in Wood County is Hurricane, with 5 declarations. Other disaster types include Fire (4), Severe Ice Storm (3), Biological (2).
How does Wood County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Texas average?
The typical Texas county has 20.9 FEMA declaration records; Wood County has 17, or 19% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 18% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Wood County received?
Wood County has received 7 major disaster declarations, representing 41% of all 17 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Wood County filed?
Wood County has 11 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $154.5K in payments, with an average of $14.0K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Wood County?
No. In Wood County, Ice Storm has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $5.8M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Wood County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Wood County was 2005, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1998 to 2021.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Wood County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Wood County, Texas has an overall risk score of 63.2 out of 100 (Relatively Low). Social vulnerability here rates Very High, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $15.2M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Wood County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Wood County as of the latest release is Ice Storm (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Strong Wind (Relatively High) and Hail (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts ice storm here at an average of 1.2 times per year, drawn from 82 historical events on record. 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 Wood County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Texas profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events