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National Risk Index

Learn how to use the National Risk Index layer to assess how likely an area is to experience natural hazards.

Nikki Lee avatar
Written by Nikki Lee
Updated over a week ago

Overview:

The National Risk Index is a dataset that illustrates the communities at risk for 18 natural hazards. The data is published annually by FEMA.

These natural hazards include;

  • Avalanche

  • Coastal flooding

  • Cold wave

  • Drought

  • Earthquake

  • Hail

  • Heatwave

  • Hurricane

  • Ice storm

  • Landslide

  • Lightning

  • Riverine flooding

  • Strong wind

  • Tornado

  • Volcanic Activity

  • Wildfire

  • Winter Weather

  • Composite (all hazards)

For each hazard, the dataset provides:

  • Risk Score

  • Expected Annual Loss Rate (Buildings)

  • Frequency

The map is color-coded by Risk Score, which reflects how likely a hazard is to occur in a given area:

1 = Very Low
2 = Low
3 = Moderate
4 = High
5 = Very High

Data Definitions:

  • Expected Annual Loss Rate: Expected Annual Loss Rate is a measure of relative natural hazard intensities independent of the community's exposure value. They represent the average percentage losses to buildings, population, and/or agriculture (consequence types) each year due to natural hazards.

  • Frequency: The expected frequency or probability of a hazard occurrence per year.

  • Risk Score: This score reflects a community’s overall risk of negative impacts from natural hazards. It’s rated on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 indicating very low risk and 5 indicating very high risk.

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