FEMA declarations
102
High volume
State profile · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Alabama Natural Disasters
Alabama carries a substantial federal disaster record. 102 FEMA disaster declarations are on record, led by severe storm, with $497.7M in combined property and crop damage. The count also reflects declaration policy and program use; it is not a direct measure of physical hazard frequency. NOAA storm event data shows 14,583 recorded weather events resulting in 161 fatalities, a toll that informs where the state directs disaster-preparedness resources.
- 102
- FEMA declarations
- 14,583
- NOAA storm events
- 161
- Storm fatalities
- $497.7M
- Property + crop damage
The Alabama risk picture
4 of the 67 counties FEMA scores, 6%, carry a FEMA "high-risk" National Risk Index rating, with riverine flooding the single largest driver of expected annual loss statewide. Alabama has 75 Major Disaster (DR) declarations; FEMA authorizes Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both separately for each declaration. NOAA-tracked storms have caused 533 injuries statewide.
- 6%
- of counties rated high-risk by FEMA National Risk Index
- 102
- FEMA disaster declarations on record
- $497.7M
- in tracked property + crop damage
- 44,083
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed statewide
FEMA's National Risk Index and NOAA's Storm Events Database measure different things: modeled long-run risk vs. observed severe-weather events. Storm Events is a reported dataset, so its counts track what was observed and logged, not every event that occurred, and reporting is denser where more people live. See the methodology for how they relate.
Major Disaster share
74%
Major-heavy
NOAA storm events
14,583
Observed severe-weather records
How does Alabama compare?
Alabama vs. every U.S. state
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
102 Top 24% higher than 76% of 59 states and territories
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states and territories. 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
Alabama county risk-score spread
FEMA National Risk Index composite scores, 0–100
61.5 48th percentile higher than 48% of 67 county composite scores
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more county composite scores. 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 National Risk Index (NRI), county composite scores · 2026-08-25
The declaration chart counts past federal actions. The county score chart summarizes FEMA's modeled National Risk Index composite; it is not a forecast, and a state average does not describe every county.
Do more storms mean more federal disasters?
Alabama sits at the 75th percentile of FEMA declaration volume and the 64th percentile of NOAA storm-event volume among 55 states and territories, those two ranks are not interchangeable.
FEMA declaration rank vs NOAA storm-event rank
Read the chart, every state as text
Percentiles are within this release's state/territory sample. Raw counts are the underlying FEMA and NOAA totals.
| State | FEMA decls | FEMA %ile | NOAA storms | NOAA %ile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 396 | 98 | 23,694 | 93 |
| Texas | 389 | 96 | 53,309 | 98 |
| Oklahoma | 258 | 95 | 23,896 | 95 |
| Washington | 215 | 93 | 4,408 | 22 |
| Florida | 188 | 91 | 12,838 | 55 |
| Oregon | 169 | 89 | 3,695 | 20 |
| New Mexico | 126 | 87 | 10,974 | 45 |
| Arizona | 120 | 85 | 9,541 | 38 |
| New York | 118 | 84 | 21,653 | 82 |
| Montana | 112 | 82 | 13,576 | 56 |
| Colorado | 111 | 78 | 18,340 | 73 |
| Louisiana | 111 | 78 | 11,204 | 47 |
| Nevada | 110 | 76 | 4,534 | 24 |
| Alabama | 102 | 75 | 14,583 | 64 |
| Kentucky | 98 | 71 | 19,947 | 78 |
| Mississippi | 98 | 71 | 14,100 | 62 |
| Tennessee | 97 | 69 | 16,645 | 69 |
| South Dakota | 96 | 67 | 22,759 | 87 |
| Alaska | 94 | 64 | 2,683 | 15 |
| Kansas | 94 | 64 | 25,115 | 96 |
| Arkansas | 87 | 60 | 13,637 | 58 |
| Nebraska | 87 | 60 | 20,136 | 80 |
| Missouri | 86 | 58 | 22,952 | 89 |
| North Carolina | 85 | 56 | 16,367 | 67 |
| West Virginia | 84 | 55 | 12,026 | 49 |
| Georgia | 81 | 51 | 16,676 | 71 |
| Minnesota | 81 | 51 | 19,109 | 75 |
| Iowa | 78 | 49 | 21,883 | 84 |
| Virginia | 77 | 47 | 23,584 | 91 |
| North Dakota | 75 | 45 | 10,818 | 44 |
| Hawaii | 72 | 44 | 6,200 | 31 |
| Maine | 71 | 42 | 4,781 | 27 |
| Illinois | 68 | 40 | 22,088 | 85 |
| Pennsylvania | 64 | 38 | 19,427 | 76 |
| New Hampshire | 63 | 36 | 2,547 | 11 |
| Vermont | 62 | 35 | 3,449 | 18 |
| Idaho | 60 | 31 | 5,142 | 29 |
| Ohio | 60 | 31 | 16,184 | 65 |
| Massachusetts | 59 | 25 | 6,781 | 33 |
| New Jersey | 59 | 25 | 8,218 | 35 |
| Utah | 59 | 25 | 4,578 | 25 |
| Wisconsin | 56 | 24 | 13,807 | 60 |
| Indiana | 54 | 22 | 12,687 | 53 |
| Puerto Rico | 51 | 18 | 2,944 | 16 |
| South Carolina | 51 | 18 | 10,520 | 42 |
| Michigan | 46 | 16 | 9,052 | 36 |
| Wyoming | 45 | 15 | 12,494 | 51 |
| Connecticut | 43 | 13 | 2,622 | 13 |
| Maryland | 38 | 11 | 10,290 | 40 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 33 | 9 | 88 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 31 | 7 | 924 | 7 |
| Delaware | 26 | 5 | 1,475 | 9 |
| Guam | 25 | 4 | 258 | 2 |
| District of Columbia | 24 | 2 | 452 | 5 |
| American Samoa | 17 | 0 | 292 | 4 |
What shapes Alabama's record?
FEMA declaration types in Alabama
Wider bars = more declarations of that incident type
- Severe Storm
Severe Storm
45 declarations
- Hurricane
Hurricane
25 declarations
- Flood 10
Flood
10 declarations
- Fire 9
Fire
9 declarations
- Tornado 7
Tornado
7 declarations
- Biological 4
Biological
4 declarations
- Snowstorm 1
Snowstorm
1 declarations
- Drought 1
Drought
1 declarations
What this shows Severe Storm leads Alabama's FEMA declaration mix with 45 records among the types shown.
NOAA storm events by year in Alabama
Reported severe-weather events, 2015-2025 catalog window
Peak year in this series: 2025 (2,302 events). Counts are reported events, not a complete census.
63 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Alabama · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite mixing OpenFEMA declaration totals (1953–present) with NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025), different windows and event definitions, disclosed weights on the methodology page . 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
17/30
102 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.2x state average)
NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025) High
17/25
14583 NOAA storm events in the 2015–2025 extract (1.3x median state)
NOAA Damage (2015–2025) Moderate
9/25
Recorded NOAA property+crop damage in the 2015–2025 extract (0.9x median state)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Alabama
What does Alabama's hazard record show?
Flood exposure & where to dig deeper
Flood exposure is quantified separately through the National Flood Insurance Program. Policyholders across 64Alabama counties have filed 44,083 NFIP claims totaling $1.2B, or an average of $27.0K per claim. NFIP data captures only insured flood losses, so uninsured flood damage and storm-surge losses outside mapped high-risk zones remain invisible in this figure. The highest-Expected-Annual-Loss hazard across the state is Riverine Flooding, estimated at $1.1B annually. Drill into individual counties for localized risk, read FEMA's hazard-specific briefings, and review insurance and flood-zone designations, state-level averages can mask sharp county-to-county differences in exposure and resilience.
NOAA storm events & FEMA National Risk Index
NOAA's Storm Events Database adds the near-term severe-weather lens. Between 2015 and 2025, Alabama recorded 14,583 individual storm events, causing 161 fatalities and 533 injuries, with combined property and crop damage estimated at $497.7M. The most frequent event types in the state are Thunderstorm Wind (7,827 events), Hail (1,349 events), Flash Flood (1,047 events). Across the 67counties FEMA scores here, its National Risk Index flags 4 as high-risk, with an average county Risk Index score (FEMA's own formula, distinct from our Historical Activity tool below) of 61.5/100.
What this count is, and is not. Storm Events is a reported database: NOAA compiles it from National Weather Service offices, trained spotters, law enforcement, and the public. It is a record of what was observed and logged, not a complete census of severe weather. Densely populated areas report more events than sparsely populated ones with similar meteorological exposure, and detection has improved over time, so an event count is not a like-for-like measure of hazard between places or across decades. Damage figures are field estimates, not audited losses. See methodology.
FEMA disaster declarations
Alabama (AL) has a high level of federal declaration activity, with 102 FEMA declaration records, including 75 Major Disaster declarations (DR). A DR may authorize Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both; those program approvals are not implied by the DR count. The dominant declaration type is Severe Storm, followed by Hurricane (25), Flood (10), Fire (9). Declaration counts at the state level reflect the cumulative federal footprint: large multi-county events count once per state, but repeat hazard patterns across decades are visible in the breakdown below.
Disaster Types in Alabama
Share of this state's FEMA declarations; the bar chart above is the same mix as counts.
Severe Storm
44.1%
45 declarations
Hurricane
24.5%
25 declarations
Flood
9.8%
10 declarations
Fire
8.8%
9 declarations
Tornado
6.9%
7 declarations
Biological
3.9%
4 declarations
Snowstorm
1.0%
1 declarations
Drought
1.0%
1 declarations
Storm Events by Type
NOAA storm event data for Alabama (2015-2025).
| Event Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7,827 | 16 | 115 | $51.7M |
| Hail | 1,349 | 0 | 0 | $5.0K |
| Flash Flood | 1,047 | 17 | 7 | $12.8M |
| Tornado | 896 | 57 | 343 | $49.7M |
| Drought | 857 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Heat | 417 | 4 | 3 | $0 |
| Frost/Freeze | 391 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Flood | 262 | 3 | 1 | $8.1M |
| Winter Weather | 225 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Strong Wind | 204 | 11 | 10 | $23.3M |
| Excessive Heat | 203 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 140 | 0 | 0 | $50.0K |
| Tropical Storm | 138 | 0 | 2 | $4.5M |
| Winter Storm | 120 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Lightning | 100 | 15 | 35 | $12.4M |
| Heavy Snow | 89 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Heavy Rain | 63 | 0 | 0 | $1.0K |
| High Wind | 37 | 2 | 2 | $15.5K |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 32 | 1 | 0 | $19.5M |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 30 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Storm Events by Year
| Year | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,302 | 14 | 40 | $21.8M |
| 2024 | 1,273 | 5 | 30 | $17.4M |
| 2023 | 2,125 | 19 | 59 | $42.9M |
| 2022 | 1,030 | 16 | 33 | $31.0M |
| 2021 | 1,186 | 22 | 95 | $9.1M |
| 2020 | 1,353 | 13 | 32 | $313.4M |
| 2019 | 1,118 | 31 | 109 | $981.6K |
| 2018 | 1,027 | 6 | 35 | $8.3M |
| 2017 | 1,301 | 14 | 39 | $31.6M |
| 2016 | 976 | 7 | 33 | $4.3M |
| 2015 | 892 | 14 | 28 | $14.8M |
FEMA Disaster Declarations
How the 102 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download all 102 declarations as CSV . Source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
102 unique disaster declarations in Alabama.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3618 | HURRICANE HELENE | EM | Hurricane | 2024-09-26 |
| 4710 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-05-05 |
| 4684 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-01-15 |
| 4632 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2021-12-21 |
| 4596 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2021-04-26 |
| 4591 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2021-03-28 |
| 4573 | HURRICANE ZETA | DR | Hurricane | 2020-12-10 |
| 4563 | HURRICANE SALLY | DR | Hurricane | 2020-09-20 |
| 3545 | HURRICANE SALLY | EM | Hurricane | 2020-09-14 |
| 4554 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2020-07-10 |
| 4555 | SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS | DR | Severe Storm | 2020-07-10 |
| 4546 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2020-05-21 |
| 4503 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-29 |
| 3472 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3528 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4426 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-04-17 |
| 4419 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 2019-03-05 |
| 4406 | HURRICANE MICHAEL | DR | Hurricane | 2018-11-05 |
| 3407 | HURRICANE MICHAEL | EM | Hurricane | 2018-10-12 |
| 4362 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2018-04-26 |
| 4349 | HURRICANE NATE | DR | Hurricane | 2017-11-16 |
| 3394 | HURRICANE NATE | EM | Hurricane | 2017-10-08 |
| 3389 | HURRICANE IRMA | EM | Hurricane | 2017-09-11 |
| 4251 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2016-01-21 |
| 4176 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2014-05-02 |
| 4082 | HURRICANE ISAAC | DR | Hurricane | 2012-09-21 |
| 4052 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-02-01 |
| 1971 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-04-28 |
| 3319 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | EM | Severe Storm | 2011-04-27 |
| 1908 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-05-03 |
| 1870 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-12-31 |
| 1866 | TROPICAL STORM IDA | DR | Hurricane | 2009-12-22 |
| 1842 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-06-03 |
| 1836 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-05-08 |
| 1835 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, TORNADOES & STRAIGHT-LINE | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-04-28 |
| 1797 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING ASSOCIATED WITH HURRICANE IKE | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-09-26 |
| 1789 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | DR | Hurricane | 2008-09-10 |
| 3292 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM | Hurricane | 2008-08-30 |
| 1687 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-03-03 |
| 3237 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-10 |
| 1605 | HURRICANE KATRINA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-08-29 |
| 3214 | HURRICANE KATRINA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-08-28 |
| 1593 | HURRICANE DENNIS | DR | Hurricane | 2005-07-10 |
| 1549 | HURRICANE IVAN | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-15 |
| 1466 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-05-12 |
| 1442 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2002-11-14 |
| 1438 | TROPICAL STORM ISIDORE | DR | Hurricane | 2002-10-09 |
| 1399 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-12-07 |
| 2395 | AL - NORTH EAST ALABAMA FIRE COMPLEX - 11/20/2001 | FM | Fire | 2001-11-20 |
| 1362 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2001-03-05 |
Showing 50 of 102 declarations.
FEMA National Risk Index
Composite natural hazard risk scores for Alabama counties based on FEMA's National Risk Index.
Avg County Risk Score
61.5/100
High Risk Counties
4
of 67 counties
Top Hazard by EAL
Riverine Flooding
$1.1B annual loss est.
Top 5 Hazards by Expected Annual Loss
#1
Riverine Flooding
$1.1B EAL
#2
Hurricane
$466.1M EAL
#3
Tornado
$427.4M EAL
#4
Cold Wave
$153.1M EAL
#5
Earthquake
$120.0M EAL
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) EAL = Expected Annual Loss. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
National Flood Insurance Program claims across Alabama from FEMA NFIP data.
Total Claims
44,083
Total Paid
$1.2B
Avg Per Claim
$27.0K
Counties With Claims
64
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
Counties in Alabama
67 counties with FEMA disaster data. Declaration counts measure past federal action; NRI rating is FEMA's modeled composite, so a high count is not a high rating.
| # | County | Disasters | NRI rating | Major |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mobile County | 40 | Relatively High | 27 |
| 2 | Jefferson County | 39 | Relatively High | 27 |
| 3 | Baldwin County | 38 | Relatively High | 24 |
| 4 | DeKalb County | 34 | Relatively Low | 24 |
| 5 | Covington County | 33 | Relatively Moderate | 21 |
| 6 | Dale County | 33 | Relatively Low | 21 |
| 7 | Geneva County | 33 | Relatively Low | 21 |
| 8 | Cullman County | 32 | Relatively Moderate | 23 |
| 9 | St. Clair County | 30 | Relatively Low | 19 |
| 10 | Coffee County | 30 | Relatively Moderate | 18 |
| 11 | Etowah County | 29 | Relatively Moderate | 19 |
| 12 | Marshall County | 29 | Relatively Moderate | 20 |
| 13 | Crenshaw County | 29 | Very Low | 17 |
| 14 | Butler County | 28 | Relatively Low | 16 |
| 15 | Choctaw County | 28 | Relatively Low | 16 |
| 16 | Henry County | 28 | Very Low | 17 |
| 17 | Clarke County | 28 | Relatively Low | 16 |
| 18 | Jackson County | 28 | Relatively Low | 17 |
| 19 | Houston County | 28 | Relatively Moderate | 17 |
| 20 | Tuscaloosa County | 28 | Relatively Moderate | 18 |
| 21 | Barbour County | 28 | Relatively Low | 17 |
| 22 | Washington County | 27 | Relatively Low | 14 |
| 23 | Dallas County | 27 | Relatively Low | 17 |
| 24 | Conecuh County | 27 | Very Low | 15 |
| 25 | Escambia County | 27 | Relatively Moderate | 15 |
| 26 | Macon County | 26 | Very Low | 15 |
| 27 | Monroe County | 26 | Relatively Low | 14 |
| 28 | Marion County | 26 | Relatively Low | 17 |
| 29 | Lamar County | 26 | Very Low | 17 |
| 30 | Shelby County | 26 | Relatively Moderate | 14 |
| 31 | Walker County | 25 | Relatively Moderate | 15 |
| 32 | Talladega County | 25 | Relatively Moderate | 13 |
| 33 | Randolph County | 25 | Very Low | 15 |
| 34 | Cherokee County | 25 | Relatively Low | 15 |
| 35 | Winston County | 25 | Relatively Low | 16 |
| 36 | Blount County | 25 | Relatively Low | 16 |
| 37 | Colbert County | 24 | Relatively Low | 15 |
| 38 | Bullock County | 24 | Very Low | 13 |
| 39 | Montgomery County | 24 | Relatively Moderate | 11 |
| 40 | Clay County | 24 | Very Low | 14 |
| 41 | Perry County | 24 | Very Low | 14 |
| 42 | Morgan County | 24 | Relatively Moderate | 15 |
| 43 | Chilton County | 24 | Relatively Low | 13 |
| 44 | Russell County | 24 | Relatively Low | 14 |
| 45 | Autauga County | 24 | Relatively Low | 13 |
| 46 | Elmore County | 24 | Relatively Low | 14 |
| 47 | Coosa County | 23 | Very Low | 12 |
| 48 | Chambers County | 23 | Relatively Low | 14 |
| 49 | Calhoun County | 23 | Relatively Moderate | 14 |
| 50 | Hale County | 23 | Very Low | 13 |
| 51 | Pike County | 23 | Relatively Low | 12 |
| 52 | Wilcox County | 22 | Very Low | 12 |
| 53 | Greene County | 22 | Very Low | 12 |
| 54 | Cleburne County | 22 | Very Low | 11 |
| 55 | Limestone County | 22 | Relatively Low | 13 |
| 56 | Franklin County | 22 | Relatively Low | 12 |
| 57 | Lawrence County | 22 | Relatively Low | 13 |
| 58 | Lee County | 22 | Relatively Low | 12 |
| 59 | Fayette County | 21 | Very Low | 11 |
| 60 | Madison County | 21 | Relatively High | 12 |
| 61 | Tallapoosa County | 20 | Relatively Low | 11 |
| 62 | Sumter County | 20 | Relatively Low | 9 |
| 63 | Lauderdale County | 20 | Relatively Moderate | 11 |
| 64 | Bibb County | 20 | Very Low | 10 |
| 65 | Marengo County | 20 | Relatively Low | 10 |
| 66 | Lowndes County | 20 | Very Low | 10 |
| 67 | Pickens County | 19 | Relatively Low | 10 |
Highest-risk counties by FEMA National Risk Index
Declaration counts above measure past federal action; FEMA's NRI is a composite of Expected Annual Loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience. By that separate measure the highest-risk counties in Alabama are Mobile (Relatively High), Jefferson (Relatively High), Baldwin (Relatively High), Madison (Relatively High), Montgomery (Relatively Moderate). Compare any county's recorded history with the Historical Activity tool.
All 67 counties in Alabama are listed above.
Compare beyond this profile
Nationwide states with similar NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Alabama: nearest states by average county National Risk Index composite and nearest FEMA declaration count (floor ≥5 records). Record similarity only, not a forecast of the next hazard.
Similar average NRI composite
Nearest states by mean county FEMA NRI score. Alabama: 61.5 across 67 scored counties.
Similar declaration volume
Nearest states by FEMA declaration count. Alabama: 102. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Disaster Preparedness Guides
Learn more about natural disaster risk, preparedness, and data interpretation.
Preparing for Natural Disasters
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Hazard Risk by Region
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Climate Change & Disasters
How climate trends are changing the frequency and severity of natural disasters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What natural disasters affect Alabama?
Alabama is affected by severe storm, hurricane, flood, fire. The most common disaster type is Severe Storm, based on 102 FEMA disaster declarations on record.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has Alabama had?
Alabama has received 102 FEMA disaster declarations, including 75 major disaster declarations. That total is spread across disaster types including Severe Storm (45), Hurricane (25), Flood (10).
What severe weather events are most common in Alabama?
The most common severe weather events in Alabama include thunderstorm wind (7,827 events), hail (1,349 events), flash flood (1,047 events). These NOAA storm events recorded from 2015 to 2025 have caused 161 fatalities and $497.7M in property and crop damage.
How active is Alabama's federal disaster declaration record?
Alabama has a high level of historical federal declaration activity, based on 102 FEMA declaration records. This band is not a future-risk forecast. Separately, NOAA storm events from 2015-2025 record 161 fatalities and 533 injuries. Combined NOAA-listed property and crop losses total $497.7M.
How many flood insurance claims has Alabama had?
Alabama has 44,083 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims with $1.2B total paid out. Claims average $27.0K, with 64 counties reporting flood insurance claims.
Which counties in Alabama have the most disaster declarations?
Among 67 counties in Alabama, those with the most FEMA declaration records include Mobile (40 declarations), Jefferson (39 declarations), Baldwin (38 declarations). County-level records show where federal declarations have concentrated across the state.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025) For informational purposes only
What this means for Alabama
Mobile alone accounts for 39% of Alabama's FEMA disaster declarations, out of 67 counties tracked statewide.
- The declaration record is uneven within the state: Mobile and Jefferson carry the most FEMA declarations. Browse counties
- See how Alabama ranks against other states for disaster frequency and damage. State rankings
- Learn what FEMA declarations, NRI risk scores, and damage figures do and don't tell you. Disaster-data guide
Historical declaration counts and damage totals describe past federal response, not a forecast. For current threats, follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.
PlainHazard derives this presentation from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries. Its county 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.
Related
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.