Most Disaster-Prone Counties in America

How FEMA Declarations Are Counted

FEMA issues several types of disaster declarations. Major Disaster Declarations (the most common) authorize a full range of federal recovery programs after events exceeding state and local resources. Emergency Declarations authorize specific federal assistance for imminent threats. Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAGs) are wildfire-specific declarations. This ranking counts all declaration types combined, as each represents an event severe enough to require federal intervention.

PlainHazard's FEMA declaration dataset begins in 1973 (the earliest year with complete digitized OpenFEMA records; the federal declaration program itself dates to 1953). Counties with the highest cumulative totals have faced repeated geographic exposure across 50+ years, a strong signal of ongoing hazard risk. Browse individual county profiles to see declaration history, storm event counts, and hazard type breakdowns for any US county.

The Most Disaster-Declared Counties

Live counts from the FEMA OpenFEMA dataset as ingested by PlainHazard, every row links to that county's full profile at /counties/. Counts are DISTINCT federal declarations affecting each county, so a single declaration naming many sub-county areas counts once.

Why Some Counties Rank Higher

A county climbs this list for two reasons. The first is genuine, recurring hazard exposure: counties in the path of wildfire seasons, Gulf and Atlantic hurricanes, Plains tornadoes, or chronic river and flash flooding accumulate separate declarations across many events over the years. The second is administrative: when the President issues a major disaster declaration, FEMA names every eligible county, so one large event can add a declaration to many counties at once, and states whose governors more readily request federal assistance tend to show higher county counts.

That is why a raw declaration count is best read as a starting point, not a verdict. A populous, large-area county is simply exposed to more events, and the count says nothing about per-capita risk or the severity of any single disaster. To compare counties fairly, pair this ranking with each county's FEMA National Risk Index score, which folds expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience into one normalized number.

Explore the patterns by state on the state directory, or open any county above for its full declaration history and hazard profile.

Hazard Types Driving High Declaration Counts

Three hazard categories account for the majority of declarations in high-count counties:

• Flooding (all types): River flooding, flash flooding, and coastal storm surge collectively generate more FEMA declarations than any other hazard category. The 2,729 counties in the PlainHazard database show flooding-related events in virtually every state. Even in regions not typically thought of as flood-prone, urban development and aging stormwater infrastructure create recurrent flood risk.
• Hurricanes and tropical storms: A single major hurricane can trigger declarations in 20-50 counties simultaneously, rapidly accumulating declaration counts for coastal states. Louisiana counties that sit in the direct path of Gulf Coast storm tracks have faced this exposure repeatedly since modern record-keeping began.
• Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms: Oklahoma and Kansas counties in the tornado corridor accumulate declarations from recurring outbreaks. Unlike hurricanes (which affect large areas at once), tornado declarations often target specific clusters of counties hit hardest in each event.

Explore hazard types and their geographic distribution in the hazards section.

The Least Disaster-Declared Counties

For context, many US counties have very few or no FEMA declarations in the entire 70-year record. These tend to cluster in:

• Interior Mountain West: Parts of Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana with low population density and limited exposure to flood-generating weather systems.
• Northern Great Plains: Some Plains counties have lower declaration counts despite being in tornado-adjacent regions, partly due to sparse population limiting damage severity.
• High-elevation areas: Higher elevations tend to avoid the flood-prone lowlands and the severe storm corridors that generate most declarations.

Low declaration counts do not mean zero risk, these areas may face hazards that generate fewer federal declarations (drought, wildfire smoke, isolated severe weather) or events whose impacts fall below federal threshold. Check any county's full profile in the county database.

Implications for Residents and Homebuyers

A county's FEMA declaration history is one of the most relevant data points for homebuyers and renters evaluating long-term risk. Practical applications:

• Flood insurance: Counties with multiple flood-related declarations are strong candidates for flood insurance regardless of whether a specific property is in a mapped flood zone. The FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) covers many properties; private flood insurance has grown significantly in recent years.
• Home resilience investment: In high-declaration counties, mitigation investments (reinforced roofs, storm shutters, elevating HVAC, backup generators) have the highest return on risk reduction.
• Emergency preparedness: Residents in high-declaration counties benefit from more comprehensive emergency planning, multiple evacuation routes, go-bags, and communication plans are not overcautious in areas with repeated federal disaster history.

Frequently Asked Questions