National ranking · FEMA OpenFEMA

Which states have the most natural disasters?

California does, on the measure that exists nationwide: federally declared disasters. All 59 U.S. states and territories are ranked below by total FEMA declaration records, which include Major Disaster, Emergency, and Fire Management Assistance declarations and are not a direct hazard-risk ranking.

Compiled by PlainHazard, Independent hazard-data publisher · August 25, 2026

California
Most declaration records: 396
California declarations: 5,218
Declarations nationwide: 59
States & territories

California has the most FEMA disaster declarations on record (396, 8% of the nationwide 5,218)

According to FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, PlainHazard ranks all 59 U.S. states and territories by total federal disaster declaration records. California leads; its most common declared type is Fire. Declaration counts reflect federal activity and land area, not per-capita risk.

396 California declarations
8% of U.S. declarations
20% held by the top 3 states

How concentrated are the declarations

California accounts for 8% of all FEMA disaster declarations among the 59 states and territories in this ranking, and the top three states combined, California, Texas, Oklahoma, account for 20%. A declaration count reflects federal disaster activity, not population-adjusted risk.

8%
of nationwide declarations are in California alone: 20%
of declarations concentrated in just the top 3 states: 59
states and territories covered in this ranking

A raw declaration count is not a hazard-frequency or per-capita risk measure. Fire Management Assistance declarations can dominate some states' totals.

Most Disasters Most Damage Deadliest Most Injuries Most Major

Top 12 states by FEMA disaster declarations

Each row links to the state profile, crawlable ranking, not an image-only chart

1

California 396 declarations

Fire
2

Texas 389 declarations

Fire
3

Oklahoma 258 declarations

Fire
4

Washington 215 declarations

Fire
5

Florida 188 declarations

Fire
6

Oregon 169 declarations

Fire
7

New Mexico 126 declarations

Fire
8

Arizona 120 declarations

Fire
9

New York 118 declarations

Severe Storm
10

Montana 112 declarations

Fire
11

Colorado 111 declarations

Fire
12

Louisiana 111 declarations

Hurricane

Source FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-25

The bar to make this top-12 list

Distribution of FEMA declaration totals across all states and territories

111 Top 20% higher than 80% of 59 states

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. 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 OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-25

Explore the ranking (interactive)

Use the filters below to compare states by FEMA declaration totals. The full ranking table stays visible below for crawlable SEO coverage.

How to interpret this ranking

A FEMA declaration count is a measure of federal disaster-assistance activity, not a direct hazard exposure forecast. States with more counties, more eligible event types, or more frequently declared emergencies can rank higher even if their per-capita risk is lower than a smaller state.

Major vs emergencies vs Fire Management Assistance

Major disasters and emergencies reflect FEMA authorization for defined disaster footprints. Fire Management Assistance declarations reflect federal support for qualifying wildland fire response. That split is why some states' totals are dominated by a single category.

Totals do not equal per-capita risk

Population size and administrative eligibility shape the number of declaration records you see. For a "how dangerous is this?" view, compare this ranking to each state profile's NOAA storm-event and NFIP context rather than using declaration volume alone.

Methodology (what we count)

PlainHazard computes this ranking directly from the FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries dataset, using the current per-state totals as a snapshot of declared disaster assistance activity.

What a "declaration record" means

Each record corresponds to a federal decision to declare assistance under the defined disaster categories. On this page, we aggregate Major Disaster, Emergency, and Fire Management Assistance declarations into a single total per state and territory, then display the category split for each row.

What to do next (avoid citation mistakes)

If you're citing disaster counts in a report, treat declaration totals as "assistance activity", then pair them with event-impact metrics (storm events, injuries, damage, and insurance exposure) to avoid mixing distinct measurement systems. A state can show high declaration volume while still having lower loss frequency.

Use this page as a starting lens

Start with this ranking to find the most-declared geographies. Then open a specific state profile to see the NOAA storm-event and NFIP claim context behind the headline total.

Compare across related rankings

Use the "Most Damage" and "Deadliest" pages for outcome-focused context. Top declaration states and top loss-risk states can differ because declaration volume reflects FEMA authorization decisions rather than purely physical impact.

The full ranking

Every state and territory, with the major-disaster, emergency, and fire-management split.

#	State	Total	Share	Major	Emergencies	Fire Mgmt	Top Type
1	CaliforniaCA	396	7.6%	116	18	262	Fire
2	TexasTX	389	7.5%	107	19	263	Fire
3	OklahomaOK	258	4.9%	99	28	131	Fire
4	WashingtonWA	215	4.1%	68	10	137	Fire
5	FloridaFL	188	3.6%	86	35	67	Fire
6	OregonOR	169	3.2%	44	4	121	Fire
7	New MexicoNM	126	2.4%	39	17	70	Fire
8	ArizonaAZ	120	2.3%	37	4	79	Fire
9	New YorkNY	118	2.3%	85	30	3	Severe Storm
10	MontanaMT	112	2.1%	43	5	64	Fire
11	ColoradoCO	111	2.1%	25	7	79	Fire
12	LouisianaLA	111	2.1%	78	28	5	Hurricane
13	NevadaNV	110	2.1%	22	5	83	Fire
14	AlabamaAL	102	2.0%	75	18	9	Severe Storm
15	KentuckyKY	98	1.9%	81	9	8	Severe Storm
16	MississippiMS	98	1.9%	77	21	0	Severe Storm
17	TennesseeTN	97	1.9%	78	9	10	Severe Storm
18	South DakotaSD	96	1.8%	63	6	27	Severe Storm
19	KansasKS	94	1.8%	71	9	14	Severe Storm
20	AlaskaAK	94	1.8%	66	3	25	Fire
21	ArkansasAR	87	1.7%	74	13	0	Severe Storm
22	NebraskaNE	87	1.7%	70	8	9	Severe Storm
23	MissouriMO	86	1.6%	75	10	1	Severe Storm
24	North CarolinaNC	85	1.6%	57	18	10	Hurricane
25	West VirginiaWV	84	1.6%	72	10	2	Flood
26	GeorgiaGA	81	1.6%	51	16	14	Severe Storm
27	MinnesotaMN	81	1.6%	63	8	10	Flood
28	IowaIA	78	1.5%	72	6	0	Severe Storm
29	VirginiaVA	77	1.5%	58	12	7	Severe Storm
30	North DakotaND	75	1.4%	61	11	3	Flood
31	HawaiiHI	72	1.4%	39	5	28	Fire
32	MaineME	71	1.4%	52	17	2	Severe Storm
33	IllinoisIL	68	1.3%	59	9	0	Severe Storm
34	PennsylvaniaPA	64	1.2%	54	10	0	Flood
35	New HampshireNH	63	1.2%	48	14	1	Severe Storm
36	VermontVT	62	1.2%	55	7	0	Severe Storm
37	OhioOH	60	1.1%	52	8	0	Severe Storm
38	IdahoID	60	1.1%	35	3	22	Fire
39	MassachusettsMA	59	1.1%	36	22	1	Severe Storm
40	New JerseyNJ	59	1.1%	43	13	3	Severe Storm
41	UtahUT	59	1.1%	16	3	40	Fire
42	WisconsinWI	56	1.1%	47	8	1	Flood
43	IndianaIN	54	1.0%	45	9	0	Severe Storm
44	Puerto RicoPR	51	1.0%	36	15	0	Hurricane
45	South CarolinaSC	51	1.0%	29	15	7	Hurricane
46	MichiganMI	46	0.9%	35	10	1	Flood
47	WyomingWY	45	0.9%	15	3	27	Fire
48	ConnecticutCT	43	0.8%	26	16	1	Hurricane
49	MarylandMD	38	0.7%	31	7	0	Flood
50	U.S. Virgin IslandsVI	33	0.6%	21	12	0	Hurricane
51	Rhode IslandRI	31	0.6%	17	13	1	Hurricane
52	Northern Mariana IslandsMP	29	0.6%	20	9	0	Typhoon
53	DelawareDE	26	0.5%	20	6	0	Hurricane
54	GuamGU	25	0.5%	19	5	1	Typhoon
55	District of ColumbiaDC	24	0.5%	15	9	0	Severe Storm
56	Federated States of MicronesiaFM	21	0.4%	19	2	0	Typhoon
57	American SamoaAS	17	0.3%	15	2	0	Hurricane
58	Marshall IslandsMH	7	0.1%	7	0	0	Typhoon
59	PalauPW	1	0.0%	1	0	0	Typhoon

What to do with this ranking

California leads with 396 FEMA declaration records (8% of the nationwide total); the top three states together hold 20%.

Open California's state profile for the county split and leading incident types behind that total. California profile
Compare the same geography on storm damage and fatality totals, declaration volume is not the same as loss. Most damage ranking
Read how FEMA declarations differ from NOAA storm-event counts before citing either figure. Disaster-data guide

Declaration counts reflect federal disaster assistance activity, not population-adjusted risk or a forecast. For current threats follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2

Frequently Asked Questions

Which US state has the most natural disasters?

California, measured the way natural disasters are counted nationwide: federal disaster declarations. It has 396 FEMA declarations on record -- 8% of the 5,218 nationwide -- more than any other state or territory. Its most common declared disaster type is Fire.

Are FEMA disaster declarations concentrated in a few states?

Yes. The top three states, California, Texas, Oklahoma, together account for 20% of all 5,218 FEMA disaster declarations across the 59 states and territories in this ranking.

Does a high disaster-declaration count mean a state is riskier?

Not directly. A declaration count reflects federal disaster activity and land area, not per-capita risk -- a large state can rack up more declarations simply by having more counties eligible to be included in a single event. See each state's detail page for its NOAA storm-event and NFIP claims context.

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.