Natural disaster risk in Oregon

How disaster-prone is Oregon?

Oregon (OR) sits at a moderate level of federally recognized natural-disaster risk, with 68 FEMA disaster declarations on record, including 5 Major Disaster declarations (DR) that triggered full federal individual and public assistance. The dominant declaration type is Fire, followed by Severe Storm (3), Mud/Landslide (1). 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.

NOAA's Storm Events Database adds the near-term severe-weather lens. Between 2015 and 2025, Oregon recorded 3,908 individual storm events, causing 300 fatalities and 126 injuries, with combined property and crop damage estimated at $4.0B. The most frequent event types in the state are High Wind (887 events), Heavy Snow (687 events), Frost/Freeze (414 events). Across the state's 33 analyzed counties, FEMA's own National Risk Index flags 5 as high-risk, with an average county Risk Index score (FEMA's own formula, distinct from our Risk Score tool below) of 62.9/100.

NFIP claims data is limited or absent for this state in the current extract, which usually indicates low flood-policy penetration rather than zero flood risk. The highest-Expected-Annual-Loss hazard across the state is Earthquake, estimated at $1.2B 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.