State profile · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index

Delaware Natural Disasters

Delaware has one of the lighter federal disaster records in the country. 26 FEMA disaster declarations are on record, led by hurricane, with $4.4M in combined property and crop damage. A light count doesn't mean zero risk, just fewer events that crossed the federal declaration threshold. NOAA storm event data shows 1,475 recorded weather events resulting in 4 fatalities, numbers that shape which hazards get priority in the state's preparedness planning.

Compiled by PlainHazard Editorial, Independent hazard-data publisher · August 3, 2026

26
FEMA declarations: 1,475
NOAA storm events: 4
Storm fatalities: $4.4M
Property + crop damage

The Delaware risk picture

1 of the 3 counties FEMA scores, 33%, carry a FEMA "high-risk" National Risk Index rating, with riverine flooding the single largest driver of expected annual loss statewide. Delaware has 20 Major Disaster (DR) declarations; FEMA authorizes Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both separately for each declaration. NOAA-tracked storms have caused 143 injuries statewide.

33%
of counties rated high-risk by FEMA National Risk Index: 26
FEMA disaster declarations on record: $4.4M
in tracked property + crop damage: 6,255
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.

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FEMA declarations

Low volume

Major Disaster share

77%

Mostly major

NOAA storm events

1,475

Observed severe-weather records

How does Delaware compare?

Delaware vs. every U.S. state

FEMA disaster declarations, all-time

26 10th percentile higher than 10% 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 · 2026-08-03

Delaware county risk-score spread

FEMA National Risk Index composite scores, 0–100

91.3 33rd percentile higher than 33% of 3 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 · 2026-08-03

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?

Delaware sits at the 5th percentile of FEMA declaration volume and the 9th percentile of NOAA storm-event volume among 55 states and territories, those two ranks are not interchangeable.

Each point is a state or territory plotted by within-sample rank percentile (0–100) on FEMA OpenFEMA declarations (x) and NOAA Storm Events (y). Crosshairs mark the mid-rank (50th). Illinois is the clearest threshold-gap example in this release. Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 + NOAA Storm Events Database.

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 Delaware's record?

Hurricane

10
Snowstorm

5
Severe Storm

4
Biological

2
Flood

2
Drought

1
Winter Storm

1
Coastal Storm

1

What this shows Hurricane leads Delaware's FEMA declaration mix with 10 records among the types shown.

NOAA storm events by year

Reported severe-weather events in Delaware, 2015–2025 catalog window.

NOAA Storm Events Database event counts for Delaware. Focus a year mark for its exact count.

Peak year in this series: 2016 (277 events). Counts are reported events, not a complete census.

26 /100

Historical Activity Index

Moderate historical activity

Delaware · 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) Low

4/30

26 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.3x state average)

NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025) Low

2/25

1475 NOAA storm events in the 2015–2025 extract (0.1x median state)

NOAA Damage (2015–2025) Low

0/25

Recorded NOAA property+crop damage in the 2015–2025 extract (0.0x median state)

Hazard Diversity Very High

20/20

8 different disaster types declared in Delaware

What does Delaware's hazard record show?

FEMA disaster declarations

Delaware (DE) has a low level of federal declaration activity, with 26 FEMA declaration records, including 20 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 Hurricane, followed by Snowstorm (5), Severe Storm (4), Biological (2). 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.

Flood exposure & where to dig deeper

Flood exposure is quantified separately through the National Flood Insurance Program. Policyholders across 3Delaware counties have filed 6,255 NFIP claims totaling $91.0M, or an average of $14.5K 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 $0.2B 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, Delaware recorded 1,475 individual storm events, causing 4 fatalities and 143 injuries, with combined property and crop damage estimated at $4.4M. The most frequent event types in the state are Thunderstorm Wind (492 events), Heavy Rain (222 events), Winter Weather (132 events). Across the 3counties FEMA scores here, its National Risk Index flags 1 as high-risk, with an average county Risk Index score (FEMA's own formula, distinct from our Historical Activity tool below) of 91.3/100.

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.

Disaster Types in Delaware

Hurricane 10

Snowstorm 5

Severe Storm 4

Biological 2

Flood 2

Drought 1

Winter Storm 1

Coastal Storm 1

Storm Events by Type

NOAA storm event data for Delaware (2015-2025).

Event Type	Events	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage
Thunderstorm Wind	492	1	10	$196.0K
Heavy Rain	222	0	0	$0
Winter Weather	132	1	50	$0
Flash Flood	102	0	0	$3.7M
Coastal Flood	95	0	0	$12.0K
Flood	59	0	0	$0
High Wind	54	0	1	$110.0K
Dense Fog	49	0	0	$0
Hail	49	0	0	$0
Winter Storm	36	0	30	$0
Strong Wind	36	0	2	$53.5K
Lightning	27	0	3	$73.0K
Excessive Heat	25	0	24	$0
Cold/Wind Chill	23	0	0	$0
Tornado	18	1	1	$200.0K
Astronomical Low Tide	17	0	1	$0
Rip Current	12	1	9	$0
Funnel Cloud	6	0	0	$0
Tropical Storm	6	0	0	$0
Heavy Snow	6	0	12	$0

Storm Events by Year

Year	Events	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage
2025	106	1	2	$123.0K
2024	83	0	3	$50.0K
2023	109	2	0	$30.0K
2022	103	0	1	$1.0K
2021	97	0	2	$3.6M
2020	184	0	0	$0
2019	136	0	4	$0
2018	62	0	0	$0
2017	152	0	12	$60
2016	277	1	30	$35.0K
2015	166	0	89	$545.5K

FEMA Disaster Declarations

How the 26 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.

Major Disaster 20 declarations (77%) Emergency 6 declarations (23%)

Download all 26 declarations as CSV . Source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.

26 unique disaster declarations in Delaware.

DR#	Title	Type	Incident	Date
4916	SEVERE WINTER STORM	DR	Winter Storm	2026-05-29
4627	REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA	DR	Hurricane	2021-10-24
4566	TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS	DR	Hurricane	2020-10-02
4526	COVID-19 PANDEMIC	DR	Biological	2020-04-05
3449	COVID-19	EM	Biological	2020-03-13
4265	SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM	DR	Snowstorm	2016-03-16
4090	HURRICANE SANDY	DR	Hurricane	2012-11-16
3357	HURRICANE SANDY	EM	Hurricane	2012-10-29
4037	HURRICANE IRENE	DR	Hurricane	2011-09-30
3336	HURRICANE IRENE	EM	Hurricane	2011-08-28
1896	SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORMS	DR	Snowstorm	2010-03-31
1654	SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING	DR	Severe Storm	2006-07-05
3263	HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION	EM	Hurricane	2005-09-30
1572	SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING FROM THE REMNANTS OF	DR	Severe Storm	2004-11-15
1495	TROPICAL STORM HENRI	DR	Hurricane	2003-09-23
1494	HURRICANE ISABEL	DR	Hurricane	2003-09-20
3183	SNOW	EM	Snowstorm	2003-03-20
1297	HURRICANE FLOYD MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATIONS	DR	Hurricane	1999-09-21
1205	SEVERE WINTER STORMS, HIGH WINDS, AND FLOODING	DR	Severe Storm	1998-02-13
1082	BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM)	DR	Snowstorm	1996-01-12
1017	SEVERE ICE STORMS AND FLOODING	DR	Severe Storm	1994-03-16
3111	SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM	EM	Snowstorm	1993-03-18
976	SEVERE COASTAL STORM & FLOODING	DR	Coastal Storm	1993-01-15
933	SEVERE COASTAL STORM	DR	Flood	1992-02-06
207	WATER SHORTAGE	DR	Drought	1965-08-18
126	SEVERE STORMS, HIGH TIDES & FLOODING	DR	Flood	1962-03-09

FEMA National Risk Index

Composite natural hazard risk scores for Delaware counties based on FEMA's National Risk Index.

Avg County Risk Score

91.3/100

High Risk Counties

of 3 counties

Top Hazard by EAL

Riverine Flooding

$0.2B annual loss est.

Top 5 Hazards by Expected Annual Loss

Riverine Flooding

$216.6M EAL

Hurricane

$51.8M EAL

Cold Wave

$37.6M EAL

Coastal Flooding

$19.0M EAL

Earthquake

$12.6M 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 Delaware from FEMA NFIP data.

Total Claims

6,255

Total Paid

$91.0M

Avg Per Claim

$14.5K

Counties With Claims

Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data

Counties in Delaware

3 counties with FEMA disaster data.

#	County	Disasters	Share	Major	Top Hazard	Latest
1	Sussex County	20	76.9%	14	Hurricane	2026
2	Kent County	17	65.4%	11	Hurricane	2026
3	New Castle County	17	65.4%	11	Hurricane	2022

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 Delaware are New Castle (95.3), Sussex (94.1), Kent (84.5). Compare any county's recorded history with the Historical Activity tool.

All 3 counties in Delaware are listed above.

Disaster Preparedness Guides

Learn more about natural disaster risk, preparedness, and data interpretation.

Preparing for Natural Disasters

Essential steps to prepare your household for the most common natural hazards.

Hazard Risk by Region

How natural disaster risk varies across different US regions.

Climate Change & Disasters

How climate trends are changing the frequency and severity of natural disasters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What natural disasters affect Delaware?

Delaware is affected by hurricane, snowstorm, severe storm, biological. The most common disaster type is Hurricane, based on 26 FEMA disaster declarations on record.

How many FEMA disaster declarations has Delaware had?

Delaware has received 26 FEMA disaster declarations, including 20 major disaster declarations. That total is spread across disaster types including Hurricane (10), Snowstorm (5), Severe Storm (4).

What severe weather events are most common in Delaware?

The most common severe weather events in Delaware include thunderstorm wind (492 events), heavy rain (222 events), winter weather (132 events). Over that 2015-2025 NOAA record, these events resulted in 4 fatalities and $4.4M in property and crop damage.

How active is Delaware's federal disaster declaration record?

Delaware has a low level of historical federal declaration activity, based on 26 FEMA declaration records. This band is not a future-risk forecast. Separately, NOAA storm events from 2015-2025 record 4 fatalities and 143 injuries. Combined NOAA-listed property and crop losses total $4.4M.

How many flood insurance claims has Delaware had?

Delaware has 6,255 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims with $91.0M total paid out. The average claim payment is $14.5K, with 3 counties reporting flood insurance claims.

Which counties in Delaware have the most disaster declarations?

Among 3 counties in Delaware, those with the most FEMA declaration records include Sussex (20 declarations), Kent (17 declarations), New Castle (17 declarations). County-by-county figures show where the state's federal declaration history concentrates.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025) For informational purposes only

What this means for Delaware

Sussex alone accounts for 77% of Delaware's FEMA disaster declarations, out of 3 counties tracked statewide.

The declaration record is uneven within the state: Sussex and Kent carry the most FEMA declarations. Browse counties
See how Delaware 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 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Browse all → | Rankings →

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.