FEMA Records
26
High volume
Arizona · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Yavapai County, AZ
26 FEMA disaster declarations (1977-2022), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Fire.
- 26
- FEMA declarations
- 10
- Major disasters
- 94
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Fire
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Yavapai County. Its 26 FEMA declarations are 56% above the Arizona county mean and exceed the count for 75% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 6%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 6%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 26
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 466
- 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 04025 · Yavapai County 26 declarations · rank 802/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-LIGHT · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-MID · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-HIGH
- DECL-HEAVY 26
- MAJOR-LIGHT 38%
- RANK-MID #802
- PHOTO-FINISH Hunterdon
- NRI-MID 94
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Fire
- VS-ST-HIGH +56%
Nearest declaration peer: Hunterdon, NJ (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Arizona state profile
Yavapai County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Yavapai County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Hunterdon · near 26
Hunterdon · near
26 declarations
- Pierce · near 26
Pierce · near
26 declarations
- San Sebastián · near 26
San Sebastián · near
26 declarations
- Yavapai · this county 26
Yavapai · this county
26 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Yavapai County carries 26 FEMA declaration records, ranked 802 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Yavapai County ranks in the national declaration registry
Yavapai County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Yavapai County
26 Top 25% higher than 75% 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
Yavapai County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Yavapai County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $69.7M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Wildfire 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 Yavapai County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 466 paid claims, totaling $6.2M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $13.4K 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. Yavapai County's 26 federal records stand 56% above the Arizona county mean of 16.7. 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 93.7/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $107.8M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively High and community resilience Very Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Wildfire stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 184 years here.
63 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Yavapai County, AZ · 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
19/30
26 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.3x national county average)
County Disaster Density Very High
19/25
26 declarations (1.6x state county average of 17)
Major Disaster Share Moderate
10/25
10 of 26 declarations are major disasters (38%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Yavapai County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Yavapai 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
38%
Mixed major share
NRI risk score
94
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Yavapai 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wildfire | Relatively High | roughly once every 184 years |
| Lightning | Very High | an average of 48 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 7.3 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 4.5 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 300 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 3.8 modeled event-days per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | an average of 4.4 times per year |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | roughly once every 5,000 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 68 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | roughly once every 284,096 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Fire 13
Flood 5
Severe Storm 4
Biological 2
Hurricane 1
Drought 1
What Fire declarations mean here
Fire is the most frequent declaration type on Yavapai County's record, 50% 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).
Fire Management - 13 50.0%
of all 26 declarations
Major Disaster - 10 38.5%
of all 26 declarations
Emergency - 3 11.5%
of all 26 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 5 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
Show 5 earlier declaration years
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 26 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 26 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5435 | CROOKS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2022-04-19 |
| 5387 | SPUR FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-05-27 |
| 4524 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-04 |
| 3442 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 5238 | 89 EAST FIRE | FM | Fire | 2018-05-11 |
| 5186 | GOODWIN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-06-25 |
| 5125 | TENDERFOOT FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-06-08 |
| 5032 | YARNELL HILL FIRE | FM | Fire | 2013-06-30 |
| 5029 | DOCE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2013-06-19 |
| 1888 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-03-18 |
| 2779 | LANE 2 FIRE | FM | Fire | 2008-06-29 |
| 2640 | LA BARRANCA FIRE | FM | Fire | 2006-06-02 |
| 3241 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-12 |
| 2562 | AZ-HUMBUG FIRE 06-23--2005 | FM | Fire | 2005-06-23 |
| 2561 | CAVE CREEK FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2005-06-22 |
| 1586 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-04-14 |
| 1581 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-02-17 |
| 2523 | WILLOW FIRE | FM | Fire | 2004-06-28 |
| 2406 | AZ - INDIAN FIRE - 5/15/2002 | FM | Fire | 2002-05-15 |
| 1347 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2000-10-27 |
Show 6 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 977 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-01-19 |
| 884 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1990-12-06 |
| 691 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1983-10-05 |
| 614 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1980-02-19 |
| 551 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1978-03-04 |
| 3038 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-04-15 |
Storm Events in Arizona
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Yavapai County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 2,094 | 45 | 18 | $149.9M |
| Excessive Heat | 1,812 | 1,497 | 120 | $0 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 1,680 | 3 | 19 | $75.9M |
| Heat | 727 | 1,206 | 39 | $0 |
| High Wind | 446 | 0 | 0 | $734.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
466
Total Paid
$6.2M
Avg Per Claim
$13.4K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 93.7/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$107.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Wildfire Relatively High
Lightning Very High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Winter Weather Relatively High
Hail Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Volcanic Activity Very Low
Avalanche Very Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Drought Very Low
Cold Wave Very Low
Hurricane 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: Wildfire
Wildfire risk in the model reflects fuel, terrain, weather and how much development sits in the wildland-urban interface. It is one of the few hazards where the exposure is materially changed by land management and building choices, not only by where the county happens to be.
For Yavapai County the two measures on this page point the same way: Wildfire is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively High), and Fire declarations also lead its federal record. Where the model and the declaration history agree, the reading is comparatively straightforward, the hazard is both expected and repeatedly realised.
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
Yavapai County's closest FEMA peer: Greenville County, SC
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Yavapai County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Yavapai County shows 26 FEMA declarations, led by Fire.
Similar Major-disaster share
Yavapai County: 10 of 26 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Yavapai County: NRI composite 93.7 (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 Yavapai County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Yavapai 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: 93.7 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 26. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Yavapai County's NFIP claims file (466 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 Yavapai County?
The most common disaster type in Yavapai County is Fire, with 13 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (5), Severe Storm (4), Biological (2).
How does Yavapai County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Arizona average?
FEMA lists 26 declaration records for Yavapai County. That is 56% above the Arizona county mean of 16.7. Its count is also 25% 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 Yavapai County received?
Yavapai County has received 10 major disaster declarations, representing 38% of all 26 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Yavapai County filed?
Yavapai County has 466 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $6.2M in payments, with an average of $13.4K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Yavapai County?
No. In Yavapai County, Wildfire has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $69.7M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Yavapai County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Yavapai County was 2005, with 5 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1977 to 2022.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Yavapai County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Yavapai County, Arizona has an overall risk score of 93.7 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively High; on community resilience, Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $107.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Yavapai County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Yavapai County is Wildfire (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Lightning (Very High) and Riverine Flooding (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts wildfire here at roughly once every 184 years. 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 Yavapai County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Arizona profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events