FEMA declarations
33
Low volume
State profile · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
U.S. Virgin Islands Natural Disasters
U.S. Virgin Islands has one of the lighter federal disaster records in the country. 33 FEMA disaster declarations are on record, led by hurricane, with $527.1K 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 88 recorded weather events resulting in 2 fatalities, figures the state uses to prioritize disaster-preparedness planning.
- 33
- FEMA declarations
- 88
- NOAA storm events
- 2
- Storm fatalities
- $527.1K
- Property + crop damage
The U.S. Virgin Islands risk picture
0 of U.S. Virgin Islands's 3 islands, 0%, carry a FEMA "high-risk" National Risk Index rating, with hurricane the single largest driver of expected annual loss statewide. U.S. Virgin Islands has 21 Major Disaster (DR) declarations; FEMA authorizes Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both separately for each declaration. NOAA-tracked storms have caused 0 injuries statewide.
- 0%
- of islands rated high-risk by FEMA National Risk Index
- 33
- FEMA disaster declarations on record
- $527.1K
- in tracked property + crop damage
- 3,289
- 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
64%
Major-heavy
NOAA storm events
88
Observed severe-weather records
How does U.S. Virgin Islands compare?
U.S. Virgin Islands vs. every U.S. state
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
33 15th percentile higher than 15% 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
Do more storms mean more federal disasters?
U.S. Virgin Islands sits at the 9th percentile of FEMA declaration volume and the 0th 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 U.S. Virgin Islands's record?
FEMA declaration types in U.S. Virgin Islands
Wider bars = more declarations of that incident type
- Hurricane
Hurricane
18 declarations
- Drought 3
Drought
3 declarations
- Flood 3
Flood
3 declarations
- Severe Storm 3
Severe Storm
3 declarations
- Other 2
Other
2 declarations
- Biological 2
Biological
2 declarations
- Tropical Storm 2
Tropical Storm
2 declarations
What this shows Hurricane leads U.S. Virgin Islands's FEMA declaration mix with 18 records among the types shown.
NOAA storm events by year
Reported severe-weather events in U.S. Virgin Islands, 2015–2025 catalog window.
Peak year in this series: 2024 (27 events). Counts are reported events, not a complete census.
24 /100
Historical Activity Index
Low historical activity
U.S. Virgin Islands · 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
6/30
33 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.4x state average)
NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025) Low
0/25
88 NOAA storm events in the 2015–2025 extract (0.0x 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
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in U.S. Virgin Islands
What does U.S. Virgin Islands's hazard record show?
FEMA disaster declarations
U.S. Virgin Islands (VI) has a low level of federal declaration activity, with 33 FEMA declaration records, including 21 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 Drought (3), Flood (3), Severe Storm (3). 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 3U.S. Virgin Islands counties have filed 3,289 NFIP claims totaling $73.6M, or an average of $22.4K 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 Hurricane, estimated at $0.1B annually. Drill into individual islands 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, U.S. Virgin Islands recorded 88 individual storm events, causing 2 fatalities and 0 injuries, with combined property and crop damage estimated at $527.1K. The most frequent event types in the state are Drought (22 events), Flash Flood (20 events), Excessive Heat (16 events). Across the state's 3 analyzed islands, FEMA's own National Risk Index flags 0 as high-risk, with an average county Risk Index score (FEMA's own formula, distinct from our Historical Activity tool below) of 0.0/100.
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 U.S. Virgin Islands
Hurricane 18
Drought 3
Flood 3
Severe Storm 3
Other 2
Biological 2
Tropical Storm 2
Storm Events by Type
NOAA storm event data for U.S. Virgin Islands (2015-2025).
| Event Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drought | 22 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Flash Flood | 20 | 0 | 0 | $524.6K |
| Excessive Heat | 16 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Coastal Flood | 10 | 0 | 0 | $400 |
| Tropical Storm | 8 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Rip Current | 2 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | 0 | $1.1K |
| Hail | 1 | 0 | 0 | $1.0K |
| Tornado | 1 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | 1 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Storm Events by Year
| Year | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | 0 | $8.7K |
| 2024 | 27 | 0 | 0 | $17.0K |
| 2023 | 16 | 0 | 0 | $1.0K |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | 0 | $400 |
| 2021 | 7 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | 0 | $500.0K |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 2015 | 8 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
FEMA Disaster Declarations
How the 33 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download all 33 declarations as CSV . Source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
33 unique disaster declarations in U.S. Virgin Islands.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4841 | TROPICAL STORM ERNESTO | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-10-25 |
| 3611 | TROPICAL STORM ERNESTO | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-18 |
| 3603 | ELEVATED LEVELS OF LEAD AND COPPER IN THE WATER SUPPLY | EM | Other | 2023-11-18 |
| 3581 | WATER SHORTAGE AND HEALTH IMPACT FROM UNPRECEDENTED SARGASSUM SEAGRASS INFLUX | EM | Other | 2022-07-25 |
| 3531 | POTENTIAL TROPICAL CYCLONE NINE | EM | Hurricane | 2020-07-29 |
| 4513 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-02 |
| 3433 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3418 | HURRICANE DORIAN | EM | Hurricane | 2019-08-28 |
| 4340 | HURRICANE MARIA | DR | Hurricane | 2017-09-20 |
| 3390 | HURRICANE MARIA | EM | Hurricane | 2017-09-18 |
| 4335 | HURRICANE IRMA | DR | Hurricane | 2017-09-07 |
| 3383 | HURRICANE IRMA | EM | Hurricane | 2017-09-05 |
| 1949 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, ROCKSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES ASSOC. WITH TS TOMAS | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-11-24 |
| 1948 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-11-05 |
| 1939 | HURRICANE EARL | DR | Hurricane | 2010-09-28 |
| 1807 | HURRICANE OMAR | DR | Hurricane | 2008-10-29 |
| 1567 | TROPICAL STORM JEANNE | DR | Hurricane | 2004-10-07 |
| 1503 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2003-12-09 |
| 1309 | HURRICANE LENNY MAJOR DECLARATION | DR | Hurricane | 1999-11-23 |
| 3152 | HURRICANE LENNY | EM | Hurricane | 1999-11-17 |
| 1248 | HURRICANE GEORGES - 18 SEP 98 | DR | Hurricane | 1998-09-24 |
| 3129 | HURRICANE GEORGES (DIRECT FEDERAL ASSIST FIRST 72 HRS) | EM | Hurricane | 1998-09-21 |
| 1126 | HURRICANE BERTHA | DR | Hurricane | 1996-07-11 |
| 1067 | HURRICANE MARILYN | DR | Hurricane | 1995-09-16 |
| 841 | HURRICANE HUGO | DR | Hurricane | 1989-09-20 |
| 729 | TROPICAL STORM KLAUS | DR | Hurricane | 1984-12-10 |
| 681 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING & MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 1983-04-30 |
| 602 | HURRICANE DAVID, TROPICAL STORM FREDERIC | DR | Hurricane | 1979-09-16 |
| 3042 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-06-14 |
| 451 | SEVERE STORMS, LANDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-11-14 |
| 3001 | DROUGHT, LIVESTOCK LOSSES | EM | Drought | 1974-07-22 |
| 298 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1970-10-17 |
| 171 | EXTREME DROUGHT CONDITIONS | DR | Drought | 1964-06-08 |
FEMA National Risk Index
Composite natural hazard risk scores for U.S. Virgin Islands islands based on FEMA's National Risk Index.
Avg County Risk Score
0.0/100
High Risk Islands
0
of 3 islands
Top Hazard by EAL
Hurricane
$0.1B annual loss est.
Top 5 Hazards by Expected Annual Loss
#1
Hurricane
$87.9M EAL
#2
Tsunami
$28.8M EAL
#3
Earthquake
$21.4M EAL
#4
Riverine Flooding
$6.7M EAL
#5
Coastal Flooding
$126.4K EAL
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) EAL = Expected Annual Loss. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
National Flood Insurance Program claims across U.S. Virgin Islands from FEMA NFIP data.
Total Claims
3,289
Total Paid
$73.6M
Avg Per Claim
$22.4K
Counties With Claims
3
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
Islands in U.S. Virgin Islands
3 islands with FEMA disaster data.
| # | Island | Disasters | Major |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Croix Island | 29 | 18 |
| 2 | St. Thomas Island | 28 | 19 |
| 3 | St. John Island | 27 | 19 |
All 3 islands in U.S. Virgin Islands are listed above.
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Climate Change & Disasters
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Frequently Asked Questions
What natural disasters affect U.S. Virgin Islands?
U.S. Virgin Islands is affected by hurricane, drought, flood, severe storm. The state's leading disaster type is Hurricane, based on 33 FEMA disaster declarations on record.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has U.S. Virgin Islands had?
U.S. Virgin Islands has received 33 FEMA disaster declarations, including 21 major disaster declarations. The declaration history covers several disaster types, including Hurricane (18), Drought (3), Flood (3).
What severe weather events are most common in U.S. Virgin Islands?
The most common severe weather events in U.S. Virgin Islands include drought (22 events), flash flood (20 events), excessive heat (16 events). Between 2015 and 2025, NOAA recorded these events causing 2 fatalities and $527.1K in property and crop damage.
How active is U.S. Virgin Islands's federal disaster declaration record?
U.S. Virgin Islands has a low level of historical federal declaration activity, based on 33 FEMA declaration records. This band is not a future-risk forecast. Separately, NOAA storm events from 2015-2025 record 2 fatalities and 0 injuries. NOAA property and crop damage records total $527.1K.
How many flood insurance claims has U.S. Virgin Islands had?
U.S. Virgin Islands has 3,289 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims with $73.6M total paid out. Per-claim payments average $22.4K, with 3 counties reporting flood insurance claims.
Which islands in U.S. Virgin Islands have the most disaster declarations?
Among 3 islands in U.S. Virgin Islands, those with the most FEMA declaration records include St. Croix (29 declarations), St. Thomas (28 declarations), St. John (27 declarations). County-level records show where federal declarations have concentrated across the state.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025) FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025) For informational purposes only
What this means for U.S. Virgin Islands
St. Croix alone accounts for 88% of U.S. Virgin Islands's FEMA disaster declarations, out of 3 counties tracked statewide.
- The declaration record is uneven within the state: St. Croix and St. Thomas carry the most FEMA declarations. Browse counties
- See how U.S. Virgin Islands 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 →
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial
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.