FEMA Records
3
Low volume
Alaska · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, AK
3 FEMA disaster declarations (2020-2021). Most common hazard: Biological.
- 3
- FEMA declarations
- 2
- Major disasters
- Biological
- Top hazard
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 02280 · Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area 3 declarations · rank 3233/3,266
DECL-LIGHT · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-UNK · ACT-LOW · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-LOW
- DECL-LIGHT 3
- MAJOR-MID 67%
- RANK-LOWER #3,233
- PHOTO-FINISH Skagway
- NRI-UNK NRI n/a
- ACT-LOW Low
- TYPE-LEAD Biological
- VS-ST-LOW -58%
Nearest declaration peer: Skagway, AK (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Alaska state profile
Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among this county and nearest peers
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Esmeralda · near 3
Esmeralda · near
3 declarations
- Skagway · near 3
Skagway · near
3 declarations
- Wrangell · near 3
Wrangell · near
3 declarations
- Wrangell-Peter… · this county 3
Wrangell-Peter… · this county
3 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area carries 3 FEMA declaration records, ranked 3233 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How does Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area compare?
Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
3 1st percentile higher than 1% 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
What does Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 1 claim and $0 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 Alaska county averages 7.2 federal declaration records, while Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area has 3. The gap is 58% 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.
29 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, AK · 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) Low
2/30
3 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.1x national county average)
County Disaster Density Low
5/25
3 declarations (0.4x state county average of 7)
Major Disaster Share High
17/25
2 of 3 declarations are major disasters (67%)
Hazard Diversity Moderate
5/20
2 different disaster types declared in Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area
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
67%
Major-heavy
County FIPS
02280
AK state code
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Biological 2
Mud/Landslide 1
What Biological declarations mean here
Biological is the most frequent declaration type on Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area's record, 67% of its declarations. In practice this category is dominated by the COVID-19 declarations of 2020, which were issued across every US state and territory rather than in response to any local hazard event.
This has a direct consequence for how Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area's number should be read. Because those declarations reached essentially every county in the country, they raise every county's total by a similar amount and tell you nothing about local hazard exposure. A county whose record is led by Biological declarations is, in most cases, a county with a genuinely quiet weather-hazard history, the pandemic records are simply the largest thing in an otherwise short list.
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 - 2 66.7%
of all 3 declarations
Emergency - 1 33.3%
of all 3 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 3 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 3 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4585 | SEVERE STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Mud/Landslide | 2021-02-17 |
| 4533 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-09 |
| 3446 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
Storm Events in Alaska
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind | 709 | 0 | 1 | $8.4M |
| Blizzard | 524 | 0 | 0 | $60.0K |
| Heavy Snow | 439 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Winter Storm | 385 | 0 | 0 | $200.0K |
| Flood | 182 | 0 | 0 | $81.9M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
1
Total Paid
$0
Avg Per Claim
$0
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
Data-matched county comparisons
Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area's closest FEMA peer: Kalawao County, HI
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields for Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area shows 3 FEMA declarations, led by Biological.
Similar Major-disaster share
Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area: 2 of 3 of its declarations are Major.
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 Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area: 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 declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 3. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Use the data guide to read Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area's declaration register against state and national benchmarks without conflating it with modeled 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 Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area?
The most common disaster type in Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area is Biological, with 2 declarations. Other disaster types include Mud/Landslide (1).
How does Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area's FEMA declaration record compare with the Alaska average?
The typical Alaska county has 7.2 FEMA declaration records; Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area has 3, or 58% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 86% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area received?
Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area has received 2 major disaster declarations, representing 67% of all 3 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area filed?
Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area has 1 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $0 in payments, with an average of $0 per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 2020 to 2021.
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.
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 2026-08-25. 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
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.