States › District of Columbia
District of Columbia
The recorded hazard history of every county in District of Columbia: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.
District of Columbia has 994 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 1 counties, led by damaging wind: 1,626.1 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.
NCEI attributes 17 deaths and 392 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $187M. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are District of Columbia.
FEMA lists 24 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Sewer Line Collapse (20 Feb 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 501 flood claims since 1978, $5.5M paid; 1,443 residential policies are in force.
NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.
Compared with the United States
| Measure | District of Columbia | US |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded events since 1950 | 994 | 1,977,440 |
| Events per 100 square miles | 1,626.1 | 56.0 |
| Events per 10,000 residents | 14.8 | 59.6 |
| Deaths recorded by NCEI | 17 | 26,435 |
| Property damage (NCEI estimates) | $187M | $575B |
| NFIP claims per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 8.1 |
| Average paid NFIP claim | $21K | $43K |
| Residential flood policies in force | 1,443 | 3,139,862 |
Hazard mix
Events by decade
Counties by events per 100 square miles
| County | Events | Last 12 mo | Per 100 sq mi | Per 10k residents | Dominant | Tornadoes | Hail | Declarations | NFIP claims | NRI risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 994 | 29 | 1,626.1 | 14.8 | Wind | 5 | 38 | 23 | 501 | Relatively High |
Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).
Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force
| County | Claims, last 10 years | Policies in force | Claims per 100 policies | Claims since 1978 | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 216 | 1,443 | 15.0 | 501 | $5.5M |
Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.
Federal disaster declarations by year
| Incident type | Declarations |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm | 9 |
| Hurricane | 6 |
| Other | 3 |
| Snowstorm | 3 |
| Biological | 2 |
| Earthquake | 1 |
Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Feb 2026 | EM-3643 | Emergency | Other | Sewer Line Collapse | 1 |
| 11 Jan 2021 | EM-3553 | Emergency | Other | 59th Presidential Inauguration | 1 |
| 29 Mar 2020 | DR-4502 | Major disaster | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic | 1 |
| 13 Mar 2020 | EM-3447 | Emergency | Biological | Covid-19 | 1 |
| 4 Mar 2016 | DR-4260 | Major disaster | Snowstorm | Snowstorm | 1 |
| 5 Dec 2012 | DR-4096 | Major disaster | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy | 1 |
| 28 Oct 2012 | EM-3352 | Emergency | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy | 1 |
| 31 Jul 2012 | DR-4073 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms | 1 |
| 8 Nov 2011 | DR-4044 | Major disaster | Earthquake | Earthquake | 1 |
| 28 Sep 2011 | DR-4036 | Major disaster | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene | 1 |
| 28 Aug 2011 | EM-3337 | Emergency | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene | 1 |
| 24 Mar 2010 | DR-1890 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | 1 |
| 3 Mar 2010 | DR-1882 | Major disaster | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | 1 |
| 13 Jan 2009 | EM-3300 | Emergency | Other | 56th Presidential Inauguration | 1 |
| 7 Sep 2005 | EM-3226 | Emergency | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | 1 |
Flood insurance claims by year
501 claims, 270 paid, $5.5M in total; 27 repetitive-loss and 4 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in District of Columbia with flood claims (18).
Year by year
Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1975
Questions and answers
Which District of Columbia counties have the most recorded tornadoes?
District of Columbia (5), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.
Which District of Columbia counties have the most flood insurance claims?
District of Columbia (501) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.
How many federal disaster declarations has District of Columbia had?
24 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 1 of them in 2026 so far.
How does District of Columbia compare with the national rate?
1,626.1 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 0.7 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.
Provenance
NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.