Escambia County, Florida: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Escambia County, Florida has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 95.1 out of 100, higher than about 95% of US counties, with lightning, hurricanes and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $174 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 40 federal disaster declarations that included Escambia County since 1970, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4955-FL (Hurricane Isaias, declared 27 October 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 100 tornadoes touching Escambia County from 1950 to 2025.
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Population 321,367 Buildings worth $57 billion Area 1,137 sq mi Risk rank in Florida 19 of 67 FIPS 12033
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning | Very High | 99.0 | $4.3 million | about 85 a year | 586,762 strikes |
| Hurricane | Very High | 98.8 | $121 million | about once every 4.1 years | 106 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 94.1 | $4.8 million | about 8.9 a year | 86 |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Moderate | 88.7 | $33 million | about 1.8 a year | 50 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 82.6 | $533,047 | about once every 379 years | — |
| Cold wave | Relatively Moderate | 81.7 | $4.0 million | about once every 1.5 years | 7.8 |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively Moderate | 76.8 | $1.8 million | about 3.6 a year | — |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 71.2 | $2.6 million | about once every 1.4 years | 48 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 68.6 | $710,682 | about once every 917 years | — |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 61.9 | $94,410 | about once every 1.8 years | 6.5 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 59.6 | $365,472 | about 1.4 a year | 57 |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 52.4 | $167,496 | about 15 a year | 455 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Low | 46.1 | $476,193 | about 1.9 a year | 48 |
| Landslide | Very Low | 45.9 | $1,009 | about once every 9.9 years | — |
| Ice storm | Very Low | 26.6 | $24,819 | about once every 63 years | 1 |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Insufficient Data | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 40
Most common: Hurricane 25, Severe Storm 5, Tropical Storm 4, Flood 4.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3 | Flood ×2, Hurricane |
| 1990s | 8 | Hurricane ×4, Flood ×2, Fire, Severe Storm |
| 2000s | 11 | Hurricane ×7, Severe Storm ×3, Fire |
| 2010s | 7 | Hurricane ×6, Severe Storm |
| 2020s | 11 | Hurricane ×7, Tropical Storm ×4 |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Escambia County
- Hurricane Ian (2022, DR-4673-FL): 67 Florida counties designated.
- Tropical Storm Ian (2022, EM-3584-FL): 67 Florida counties designated.
- Hurricane Dorian (2019, EM-3419-FL): 67 Florida counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Isaias (2026), Hurricane Helene (2024), Tropical Storm Helene (2024), Hurricane Debby (2024), Tropical Storm Debby (2024), Hurricane Ian (2022), Tropical Storm Ian (2022), Tropical Storm Fred (2021), Hurricane Sally (2020), Hurricane Dorian (2019), Hurricane Michael (2018), Hurricane Nate (2017), Hurricane Irma (2017), Hurricane Isaac (2012), Hurricane Gustav (2008), Tropical Storm Fay (2008), Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Dennis (2005), Hurricane Ivan (2004), Hurricane Frances (2004), Tropical Storm Bonnie (2004), Tropical Storm Helene (2000), Hurricane Georges (1998), Hurricane Grorges (1998), Hurricane Opal (1995), Hurricane Erin (1995), Tropical Storm Alberto (1994), Hurricane Frederic (1979).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Florida also had 31 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 100
| Tornadoes touching the county | 100 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F3 ×4 |
| Peak month | May (15) |
| Deadliest | 26 May 1973, F2, 105.4 mi path, 1 killed, 4 injured |
| Longest path | 26 May 1973, F2, 105.4 mi path, 1 killed, 4 injured |
| Most recent | 17 Jun 2025, EF0, 0.1 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 1 / 192 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 54 | 32 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 6 | 10 | 36 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 8 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Escambia County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escambia County (this page) | — | Relatively High | 95.1 | Lightning |
| Baldwin County, AL | 33 km | Relatively High | 96.7 | Hurricane |
| Santa Rosa County | 35 km | Relatively Moderate | 89.0 | Hurricane |
| Escambia County, AL | 51 km | Relatively Moderate | 85.0 | Hurricane |
| Okaloosa County | 75 km | Relatively Moderate | 92.5 | Lightning |
| Mobile County, AL | 80 km | Relatively High | 98.0 | Hurricane |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Florida, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively Moderate 41.5 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively Low 34.7 |
| Community risk factor | 1.07 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $174 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Escambia County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Florida · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Lightning: Weather alerts for Florida
- Hurricane: Is there a hurricane now? · Cyclone preparation
- Heat wave: Heatstroke warning signs
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Escambia County
What natural disasters is Escambia County, Florida most at risk from?
Escambia County, Florida has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 95.1 out of 100, higher than about 95% of US counties, with lightning, hurricanes and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $174 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Escambia County had?
OpenFEMA lists 40 federal disaster declarations that included Escambia County since 1970, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4955-FL (Hurricane Isaias, declared 27 October 2026). Another 31 Florida declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Escambia County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 100 tornadoes touching Escambia County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 26 May 1973, F2, 105.4 mi path, 1 killed, 4 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.