Franklin County, Ohio: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Franklin County, Ohio has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 98.1 out of 100, higher than about 98% of US counties, with cold waves, heat waves and inland (river and flash) flooding scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $331 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 19 federal disaster declarations that included Franklin County since 1974, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4945-OH (Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Landslides, declared 2 October 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 41 tornadoes touching Franklin County from 1950 to 2025.
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Population 1,323,446 Buildings worth $265 billion Area 549 sq mi Risk rank in Ohio 1 of 88 FIPS 39049
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold wave | Very High | 99.2 | $43 million | about 3.6 a year | 69 |
| Heat wave | Relatively High | 98.9 | $25 million | about 4.2 a year | 68 |
| Inland flooding | Relatively High | 98.8 | $210 million | about 3.5 a year | 98 |
| Hail | Relatively High | 98.5 | $8.0 million | about 3.1 a year | 118 |
| Tornado | Relatively High | 98.4 | $29 million | about once every 3.5 years | 26 |
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 96.3 | $869,443 | about 11 a year | 215 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 96.0 | $3.4 million | about 1.8 a year | 69 |
| Lightning | Relatively High | 95.0 | $1.9 million | about 46 a year | 925,947 strikes |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | 93.3 | $9.5 million | about once every 787 years | — |
| Ice storm | Relatively High | 87.5 | $743,430 | about once every 1.4 years | 49 |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | 64.2 | $3,688 | about once every 8.2 years | — |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 57.6 | $244,146 | about 1.6 a year | 77 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 49.7 | $73,096 | about once every 174 years | 2 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 29.1 | $13,434 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| 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 19
Most common: Severe Storm 11, Snowstorm 3, Flood 2, Tornado 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2 | Snowstorm, Tornado |
| 1980s | 1 | Flood |
| 1990s | 3 | Severe Storm ×3 |
| 2000s | 10 | Severe Storm ×6, Snowstorm ×2, Hurricane, Tornado |
| 2010s | 2 | Severe Storm ×2 |
| 2020s | 1 | Flood |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Franklin County
- Severe Storms (2012, EM-3346-OH): 88 Ohio counties designated.
- Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (2005, EM-3250-OH): 88 Ohio counties designated.
- Severe Storms and Flooding (2004, DR-1556-OH): 88 Ohio counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Tropical Depression Ike (2008), Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Ohio also had 3 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 41
| Tornadoes touching the county | 41 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F3 ×2 |
| Peak month | February (6) |
| Deadliest | 10 May 1973, F3, 89.6 mi path, 0 killed, 8 injured |
| Longest path | 10 May 1973, F3, 89.6 mi path, 0 killed, 8 injured |
| Most recent | 30 Mar 2025, EF0, 2.6 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 16 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 19 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 4 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 |
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 Franklin County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County (this page) | — | Relatively High | 98.1 | Cold wave |
| Delaware County | 34 km | Relatively Low | 78.8 | Hail |
| Madison County | 34 km | Very Low | 24.9 | Ice storm |
| Pickaway County | 36 km | Relatively Low | 50.9 | Drought |
| Fairfield County | 40 km | Relatively Low | 72.6 | Ice storm |
| Licking County | 47 km | Relatively Low | 78.9 | Hail |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Ohio, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively Low 38.2 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively High 65.3 |
| Community risk factor | 1.03 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $331 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 Franklin County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Ohio · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Cold wave: Carbon monoxide in winter · Power outages now
- Heat wave: Heatstroke warning signs
- Inland flooding: Flood safety: why shallow water kills · Floods recorded
- 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 Franklin County
What natural disasters is Franklin County, Ohio most at risk from?
Franklin County, Ohio has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 98.1 out of 100, higher than about 98% of US counties, with cold waves, heat waves and inland (river and flash) flooding scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $331 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Franklin County had?
OpenFEMA lists 19 federal disaster declarations that included Franklin County since 1974, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4945-OH (Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Landslides, declared 2 October 2026). Another 3 Ohio declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Franklin County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 41 tornadoes touching Franklin County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 10 May 1973, F3, 89.6 mi path, 0 killed, 8 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.