FEMA declarations
110
High volume
State profile · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Nevada Natural Disasters
Nevada carries a substantial federal disaster record. 110 FEMA disaster declarations are on record, led by fire, with $195.8M 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 4,534 recorded weather events resulting in 795 fatalities, numbers that shape which hazards get priority in the state's preparedness planning.
- 110
- FEMA declarations
- 4,534
- NOAA storm events
- 795
- Storm fatalities
- $195.8M
- Property + crop damage
The Nevada risk picture
2 of the 17 counties FEMA scores, 12%, carry a FEMA "high-risk" National Risk Index rating, with riverine flooding the single largest driver of expected annual loss statewide. Nevada has 22 Major Disaster (DR) declarations; FEMA authorizes Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both separately for each declaration. NOAA-tracked storms have caused 160 injuries statewide.
- 12%
- of counties rated high-risk by FEMA National Risk Index
- 110
- FEMA disaster declarations on record
- $195.8M
- in tracked property + crop damage
- 1,942
- 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
20%
Few majors
NOAA storm events
4,534
Observed severe-weather records
How does Nevada compare?
Nevada vs. every U.S. state
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
110 Top 22% higher than 78% 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
Nevada county risk-score spread
FEMA National Risk Index composite scores, 0–100
46.2 Top 47% higher than 53% of 17 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?
Nevada sits at the 76th percentile of FEMA declaration volume and the 24th 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 Nevada's record?
FEMA declaration types in Nevada
Wider bars = more declarations of that incident type
- Fire
Fire
84 declarations
- Flood 12
Flood
12 declarations
- Severe Storm 7
Severe Storm
7 declarations
- Biological 2
Biological
2 declarations
- Snowstorm 2
Snowstorm
2 declarations
- Hurricane 1
Hurricane
1 declarations
- Drought 1
Drought
1 declarations
- Earthquake 1
Earthquake
1 declarations
What this shows Fire leads Nevada's FEMA declaration mix with 84 records among the types shown.
NOAA storm events by year
Reported severe-weather events in Nevada, 2015–2025 catalog window.
Peak year in this series: 2022 (698 events). Counts are reported events, not a complete census.
47 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Nevada · 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
19/30
110 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.2x state average)
NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025) Low
5/25
4534 NOAA storm events in the 2015–2025 extract (0.4x median state)
NOAA Damage (2015–2025) Low
3/25
Recorded NOAA property+crop damage in the 2015–2025 extract (0.3x median state)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Nevada
What does Nevada's hazard record show?
FEMA disaster declarations
Nevada (NV) has a high level of federal declaration activity, with 110 FEMA declaration records, including 22 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 Fire, followed by Flood (12), Severe Storm (7), 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 16Nevada counties have filed 1,942 NFIP claims totaling $47.3M, or an average of $24.4K 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 $0.5B 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, Nevada recorded 4,534 individual storm events, causing 795 fatalities and 160 injuries, with combined property and crop damage estimated at $195.8M. The most frequent event types in the state are High Wind (1,647 events), Heavy Snow (926 events), Thunderstorm Wind (463 events). Across the 17counties FEMA scores here, its National Risk Index flags 2 as high-risk, with an average county Risk Index score (FEMA's own formula, distinct from our Historical Activity tool below) of 46.2/100.
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 Nevada
Fire 84
Flood 12
Severe Storm 7
Biological 2
Snowstorm 2
Hurricane 1
Drought 1
Earthquake 1
Storm Events by Type
NOAA storm event data for Nevada (2015-2025).
| Event Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind | 1,647 | 0 | 2 | $10.4M |
| Heavy Snow | 926 | 0 | 0 | $123.0K |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 463 | 3 | 0 | $8.7M |
| Flash Flood | 315 | 7 | 2 | $36.7M |
| Excessive Heat | 252 | 376 | 17 | $0 |
| Heavy Rain | 221 | 5 | 61 | $862.0K |
| Heat | 124 | 370 | 3 | $0 |
| Winter Weather | 104 | 2 | 18 | $60.0K |
| Hail | 85 | 0 | 0 | $55.6M |
| Flood | 82 | 0 | 0 | $34.7M |
| Strong Wind | 52 | 4 | 7 | $602.4K |
| Dust Storm | 40 | 0 | 20 | $25.0K |
| Debris Flow | 36 | 0 | 0 | $91.1K |
| Winter Storm | 31 | 0 | 3 | $13.0M |
| Wildfire | 26 | 0 | 8 | $31.1M |
| Lightning | 23 | 0 | 3 | $669.2K |
| Funnel Cloud | 23 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 20 | 26 | 0 | $0 |
| Dust Devil | 17 | 0 | 11 | $582.2K |
| Dense Fog | 17 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Storm Events by Year
| Year | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 447 | 96 | 2 | $3.1M |
| 2024 | 490 | 162 | 2 | $196.0K |
| 2023 | 656 | 48 | 3 | $39.6M |
| 2022 | 698 | 61 | 29 | $23.6M |
| 2021 | 450 | 13 | 4 | $3.5M |
| 2020 | 310 | 1 | 3 | $438.4K |
| 2019 | 334 | 44 | 4 | $438.0K |
| 2018 | 436 | 127 | 15 | $16.8M |
| 2017 | 272 | 121 | 4 | $20.0M |
| 2016 | 187 | 86 | 3 | $81.1M |
| 2015 | 254 | 36 | 91 | $4.6M |
FEMA Disaster Declarations
How the 110 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download all 110 declarations as CSV . Source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
110 unique disaster declarations in Nevada.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5602 | PEAVINE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2025-08-02 |
| 5592 | CONNER FIRE | FM | Fire | 2025-06-20 |
| 5586 | MARIE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2025-06-10 |
| 5546 | CALLAHAN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-11-11 |
| 5533 | DAVIS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-09-07 |
| 5530 | GOLD RANCH FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-08-12 |
| 5509 | SPRING VALLEY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-07-16 |
| 5495 | SULLIVAN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-06-12 |
| 5494 | TRAIL FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-06-11 |
| 4708 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2023-04-27 |
| 5448 | JOY LAKE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2022-08-14 |
| 5402 | TAMARACK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-07-22 |
| 5390 | JACKS VALLEY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-06-09 |
| 5382 | PINEHAVEN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-11-17 |
| 5328 | LOYALTON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-08-15 |
| 5326 | NORTH FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-08-03 |
| 5322 | ROCKFARM FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-07-21 |
| 5319 | NUMBERS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-07-07 |
| 5316 | POEVILLE ROAD FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-06-27 |
| 4523 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-04 |
| 3443 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 5291 | LONG VALLEY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2019-08-24 |
| 5289 | CANYON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2019-08-21 |
| 5283 | JASPER FIRE | FM | Fire | 2019-07-13 |
| 5242 | UPPER COLONY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2018-06-17 |
| 5193 | PREACHER FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-07-25 |
| 5191 | OIL WELL FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-07-17 |
| 5190 | COLD SPRINGS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-07-14 |
| 4307 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2017-03-27 |
| 4303 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2017-02-17 |
| 5156 | LITTLE VALLEY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-10-14 |
| 5154 | FRONTAGE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-10-02 |
| 5141 | VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS COMPLEX FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-07-31 |
| 5138 | ROCK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-07-29 |
| 4202 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2014-11-05 |
| 5034 | CARPENTER 1 FIRE | FM | Fire | 2013-07-05 |
| 2977 | TRE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2012-05-22 |
| 2974 | WASHOE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2012-01-19 |
| 2973 | CAUGHLIN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-11-18 |
| 2972 | INDIAN CREEK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-10-03 |
| 2969 | HOLBROOK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2011-09-10 |
| 2847 | CATHEDRAL FIRE | FM | Fire | 2010-07-01 |
| 2822 | RED ROCK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2009-07-17 |
| 1738 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-01-08 |
| 2717 | MURPHY FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2007-07-23 |
| 2713 | HAWKEN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2007-07-16 |
| 2709 | HUNGRY VALLEY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2007-07-08 |
| 2704 | RED ROCK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2007-07-06 |
| 2705 | SLEEPING ELEPHANT FIRE | FM | Fire | 2007-07-06 |
| 2679 | PINEHAVEN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2006-11-11 |
Showing 50 of 110 declarations.
FEMA National Risk Index
Composite natural hazard risk scores for Nevada counties based on FEMA's National Risk Index.
Avg County Risk Score
46.2/100
High Risk Counties
2
of 17 counties
Top Hazard by EAL
Riverine Flooding
$0.5B annual loss est.
Top 5 Hazards by Expected Annual Loss
#1
Riverine Flooding
$517.0M EAL
#2
Earthquake
$366.2M EAL
#3
Heat Wave
$304.8M EAL
#4
Wildfire
$156.6M EAL
#5
Drought
$5.6M 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 Nevada from FEMA NFIP data.
Total Claims
1,942
Total Paid
$47.3M
Avg Per Claim
$24.4K
Counties With Claims
16
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
Counties in Nevada
17 counties with FEMA disaster data.
| # | County | Disasters | Major |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washoe County | 48 | 7 |
| 2 | Douglas County | 25 | 8 |
| 3 | Elko County | 19 | 3 |
| 4 | Carson City (city) | 15 | 7 |
| 5 | Clark County | 14 | 5 |
| 6 | Lyon County | 14 | 8 |
| 7 | Storey County | 13 | 8 |
| 8 | Eureka County | 8 | 2 |
| 9 | Humboldt County | 8 | 3 |
| 10 | Lincoln County | 8 | 3 |
| 11 | Churchill County | 7 | 3 |
| 12 | White Pine County | 7 | 2 |
| 13 | Mineral County | 7 | 3 |
| 14 | Lander County | 6 | 1 |
| 15 | Nye County | 5 | 1 |
| 16 | Pershing County | 4 | 1 |
| 17 | Esmeralda County | 3 | 1 |
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 Nevada are Clark (99.6), Washoe (96.7), Elko (87.9), Douglas (84.4), Nye (78.3). Compare any county's recorded history with the Historical Activity tool.
All 17 counties in Nevada 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 Nevada?
Nevada is affected by fire, flood, severe storm, biological. The most common disaster type is Fire, based on 110 FEMA disaster declarations on record.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has Nevada had?
Nevada has received 110 FEMA disaster declarations, including 22 major disaster declarations. These declarations span multiple disaster types including Fire (84), Flood (12), Severe Storm (7).
What severe weather events are most common in Nevada?
The most common severe weather events in Nevada include high wind (1,647 events), heavy snow (926 events), thunderstorm wind (463 events). Between 2015 and 2025, NOAA recorded these events causing 795 fatalities and $195.8M in property and crop damage.
How active is Nevada's federal disaster declaration record?
Nevada has a high level of historical federal declaration activity, based on 110 FEMA declaration records. This band is not a future-risk forecast. Separately, NOAA storm events from 2015-2025 record 795 fatalities and 160 injuries. Combined NOAA-listed property and crop losses total $195.8M.
How many flood insurance claims has Nevada had?
Nevada has 1,942 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims with $47.3M total paid out. The average claim payment is $24.4K, with 16 counties reporting flood insurance claims.
Which counties in Nevada have the most disaster declarations?
Among 17 counties in Nevada, those with the most FEMA declaration records include Washoe (48 declarations), Douglas (25 declarations), Elko (19 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 Nevada
Washoe alone accounts for 44% of Nevada's FEMA disaster declarations, out of 17 counties tracked statewide.
- The declaration record is uneven within the state: Washoe and Douglas carry the most FEMA declarations. Browse counties
- See how Nevada 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.
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.