FEMA Records
19
Below median
Texas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Zavala County, TX
19 FEMA disaster declarations (1984-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 19
- FEMA declarations
- 12
- Major disasters
- 54
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Zavala County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 19 declarations, more than 41% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 9% below the Texas county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 46%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 46%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 19
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 39
- 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 48507 · Zavala County 19 declarations · rank 1768/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-MID 19
- MAJOR-MID 63%
- RANK-LOWER #1,768
- PHOTO-FINISH Bartow
- NRI-LOW 54
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-BELOW -9%
Nearest declaration peer: Bartow, GA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Texas state profile
Zavala County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Zavala County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Bartow · near 19
Bartow · near
19 declarations
- Union · near 19
Union · near
19 declarations
- Warren · near 19
Warren · near
19 declarations
- Zavala · this county 19
Zavala · this county
19 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Zavala County carries 19 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1768 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Zavala County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Zavala County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Zavala County
19 41st percentile higher than 41% 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
Zavala County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Zavala County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $6.5M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Drought 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 Zavala County's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 53.6/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Very Low (roughly $9.8M in annualized losses), and a Very High social-vulnerability profile combined with Very Low community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Drought stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at 124 modeled event-days per year here, based on 3,843 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 39 claims and $425.2K 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 Zavala County has 19. The gap is 9% 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.
61 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Zavala 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
14/30
19 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.9x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
11/25
19 declarations (0.9x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
12 of 19 declarations are major disasters (63%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Zavala County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Zavala 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
63%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
54
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Zavala 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively High | 124 modeled event-days per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 7.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.6 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 32 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 37 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 704 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 14 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | an average of 1 time per year |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 9 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 5,128 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 4
Flood 3
Severe Storm 3
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Fire 2
Freezing 2
Drought 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Zavala County's federal record, 21% 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).
Major Disaster - 12 63.2%
of all 19 declarations
Emergency - 7 36.8%
of all 19 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 19 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 19 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3649 | FLOODING | EM | Flood | 2026-07-18 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 1479 | HURRICANE CLAUDETTE | DR | Hurricane | 2003-07-17 |
| 1425 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2002-07-04 |
| 1239 | TROPICAL STORM CHARLEY | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-08-26 |
| 3113 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | EM | Drought | 1993-09-10 |
| 930 | SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS | DR | Flood | 1991-12-26 |
| 850 | SEVERE FREEZE | DR | Freezing | 1990-01-09 |
| 696 | SEVERE FREEZING WEATHER | DR | Freezing | 1984-01-07 |
Storm Events in Texas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Zavala 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
39
Total Paid
$425.2K
Avg Per Claim
$10.9K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 53.6/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$9.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Hurricane Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Winter Weather Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Earthquake 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: Drought
Drought is the slowest of the modeled hazards and the least visible: it does its damage to agriculture, water supply and soil over seasons rather than hours, so it rarely produces the kind of single-day damage that drives a disaster declaration. FEMA scores it in event-days per year rather than discrete events for exactly that reason.
Worth noting for Zavala County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Drought carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively 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
Zavala County's closest FEMA peer: Spotsylvania County, VA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Zavala County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Zavala County shows 19 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Zavala County: 12 of 19 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Zavala County: NRI composite 53.6 (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 Zavala County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Zavala 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: 53.6 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 19. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 19 FEMA declarations, Zavala 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 Zavala County?
The most common disaster type in Zavala County is Hurricane, with 4 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (3), Severe Storm (3), Severe Ice Storm (2).
How does Zavala County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Texas average?
The typical Texas county has 20.9 FEMA declaration records; Zavala County has 19, or 9% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 8% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Zavala County received?
Zavala County has received 12 major disaster declarations, representing 63% of all 19 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Zavala County filed?
Zavala County has 39 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $425.2K in payments, with an average of $10.9K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Zavala County?
No. In Zavala County, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $6.5M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Zavala County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Zavala County was 2005, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1984 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Zavala County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Zavala County, Texas has an overall risk score of 53.6 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Very High; on community resilience, Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $9.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Zavala County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Zavala County is Drought (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Heat Wave (Relatively Low) and Riverine Flooding (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 124 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 3,843 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 Zavala County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Texas profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events