Ripley County, Missouri: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Ripley County, Missouri has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 57.0 out of 100, higher than about 57% of US counties, with earthquakes, ice storms and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $14 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 22 federal disaster declarations that included Ripley County since 1973, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4939-MO (Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding, declared 1 September 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 23 tornadoes touching Ripley County from 1950 to 2025.
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Population 10,679 Buildings worth $3.1 billion Area 638 sq mi Risk rank in Missouri 47 of 115 FIPS 29181
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 87.9 | $2.8 million | about once every 103 years | — |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 79.3 | $284,969 | about 1.2 a year | 82 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Low | 77.1 | $965,054 | about 11 a year | 162 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Moderate | 71.7 | $1.7 million | about 1.1 a year | 20 |
| Landslide | Very Low | 62.3 | $2,336 | about 1.3 a year | — |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Low | 59.4 | $6.6 million | about 2.6 a year | 74 |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 57.8 | $1.2 million | about once every 2.4 years | 20 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 53.2 | $451,741 | about 2.3 a year | 88 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 52.8 | $52,612 | about 7.2 a year | 137 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 44.8 | $25,335 | about once every 781 years | — |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | 43.4 | $137,904 | about 59 a year | 44,484 strikes |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 40.2 | $22,022 | about once every 43 years | 8 |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 35.7 | $32,802 | about 7.6 a year | 245 |
| Hail | Very Low | 12.9 | $31,578 | about 3.4 a year | 128 |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Coastal flooding | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| 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 22
Most common: Severe Storm 15, Flood 3, Severe Ice Storm 2, Hurricane 1.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2 | Drought, Severe Storm |
| 1980s | 1 | Flood |
| 1990s | 1 | Severe Storm |
| 2000s | 8 | Severe Storm ×5, Severe Ice Storm ×2, Hurricane |
| 2010s | 4 | Flood ×2, Severe Storm ×2 |
| 2020s | 6 | Severe Storm ×6 |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Ripley County
- Severe Winter Storm (2011, EM-3317-MO): 115 Missouri counties designated.
- Severe Winter Storm (2009, EM-3303-MO): 115 Missouri counties designated.
- Severe Winter Storms (2007, EM-3281-MO): 115 Missouri counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Missouri also had 4 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 23
| Tornadoes touching the county | 23 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F3 ×1 |
| Peak month | April (5) |
| Deadliest | 24 Dec 1982, F2, 33 mi path, 1 killed, 2 injured |
| Longest path | 26 May 2024, EF2, 45.5 mi path, 0 killed, 1 injured |
| Most recent | 2 Apr 2025, EF1, 1.1 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 2 / 6 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 4 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
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 Ripley County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ripley County (this page) | — | Relatively Low | 57.0 | Earthquake |
| Carter County | 33 km | Relatively Low | 53.9 | Earthquake |
| Randolph County, AR | 38 km | Relatively Low | 67.0 | Earthquake |
| Butler County | 41 km | Relatively Moderate | 83.1 | Earthquake |
| Oregon County | 48 km | Relatively Low | 48.7 | Earthquake |
| Clay County, AR | 51 km | Relatively Low | 71.6 | Drought |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Missouri, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively High 71.3 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Very Low 5.8 |
| Community risk factor | 1.40 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $14 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 Ripley County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Missouri · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Earthquake: Earthquakes today · Earthquake safety guide
- Ice storm: Power outages now · Carbon monoxide in winter
- 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 Ripley County
What natural disasters is Ripley County, Missouri most at risk from?
Ripley County, Missouri has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 57.0 out of 100, higher than about 57% of US counties, with earthquakes, ice storms and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $14 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Ripley County had?
OpenFEMA lists 22 federal disaster declarations that included Ripley County since 1973, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4939-MO (Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding, declared 1 September 2026). Another 4 Missouri declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Ripley County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 23 tornadoes touching Ripley County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 24 Dec 1982, F2, 33 mi path, 1 killed, 2 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.