Natural disaster risk in Franklin County, Kentucky

Kentucky · population 51,521 · FIPS 21073

Overall: relatively low risk

Franklin County has a composite risk score of 64.5 out of 100 — higher than 64% of US counties. It ranks 30 of 120 in Kentucky (1 = highest risk). Its highest-rated hazards are strong wind, tornado, ice storm.

Drought now: No, but abnormally dry (D0)

No drought, but abnormally dry. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, 99.68% of Franklin County is D0 Abnormally Dry and none of it is in drought (D1 to D4). Some of it has been abnormally dry or worse for 1 week so far.

Drought in Franklin County: the last 52 weeks · droughtmonitor.unl.edu

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.

Risk, loss, vulnerability and resilience

Measure	Rating and score
Overall risk Expected annual loss, adjusted for social vulnerability and community resilience.	Relatively low 64.5
Expected annual loss About $25.5 million a year, on average, across all 18 hazards.	Relatively low 68.3
Social vulnerability Higher means people may find it harder to prepare and recover.	Relatively low 32.4
Community resilience Higher means a stronger ability to prepare, adapt and recover.	Relatively high 78.2

Risk by hazard

FEMA's risk rating for each of 18 natural hazards in Franklin County, highest first. "Not applicable" means the hazard is not modelled here.

Hazard	Risk rating and score
Strong wind	Relatively high 93
Tornado	Relatively moderate 84
Ice storm	Relatively moderate 67
Winter weather	Relatively moderate 67
Lightning	Relatively moderate 65
Inland (riverine) flooding	Relatively low 70
Earthquake	Relatively low 63
Cold wave	Relatively low 51
Hail	Relatively low 40
Heat wave	Relatively low 40
Landslide	Very low 40
Hurricane	Very low 28
Drought	Very low 19
Wildfire	Very low 15
Avalanche	Not applicable
Coastal flooding	Not applicable
Tsunami	Not applicable
Volcanic activity	Not applicable

FEMA disaster declarations for Franklin County

Federal declarations that designated Franklin County, since 1 Jan 2024 (the period this site keeps from OpenFEMA). Older declarations are in FEMA's own dataset.

Yes. Franklin County has been named in 6 FEMA declarations since 1 Jan 2024. The latest is EM-3633-KY (Severe Winter Storm), declared 24 Jan 2026.

Declaration	Kind	Incident	Declared	Individual assistance here
EM-3633-KY	Emergency	Severe Winter Storm	24 Jan 2026	No
DR-4864-KY	Major disaster	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	24 Apr 2025	Yes
EM-3626-KY	Emergency	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding	3 Apr 2025	No
DR-4860-KY	Major disaster	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	24 Feb 2025	No
EM-3624-KY	Emergency	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides	16 Feb 2025	No
DR-4848-KY	Major disaster	Remnants of Hurricane Helene	26 Nov 2024	No

All FEMA declarations in Kentucky, with estimated apply-by dates · Open FEMA deadlines

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). Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2.

How to read these ratings

Ratings run in five steps: very low, relatively low, relatively moderate, relatively high and very high. They compare a county with every other US county; they are not a measure of danger on their own.
Scores run from 0 to 100 and are national percentiles. The bar shows the score: a score of 80 means a higher value than 80% of US counties.
Overall risk combines the expected annual loss with social vulnerability and community resilience.
Expected annual loss is the average yearly loss to buildings, people and agriculture the model expects from all 18 hazards.
Social vulnerability describes how hard it may be for people to prepare for and recover from a disaster. Higher is worse.
Community resilience describes a community's ability to prepare, adapt and recover. Higher is better.
"Not applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard there (for example, hurricanes far inland).

About this data

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, version 1.20, released December 2025, published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (US public domain). About the National Risk Index. The index is a model of relative risk built from historical hazard records, what is exposed and community factors. It is not a forecast, it does not describe any single property, and it is not insurance or financial advice. For decisions about a specific address, check FEMA's flood maps and your local emergency management office.

Questions

What is the natural disaster risk in Franklin County, Kentucky?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the overall risk in Franklin County as relatively low, with a score of 64.5 out of 100 (higher than 64% of US counties). That is a comparison with other US counties, not a forecast.

What are the biggest natural hazards in Franklin County?

The hazards rated highest for Franklin County are strong wind (relatively high), tornado (relatively moderate), ice storm (relatively moderate).

What is the flood risk in Franklin County?

FEMA rates inland (river and rain) flooding risk in Franklin County as relatively low. For a specific property, check the FEMA flood map and your local floodplain office.

Has Franklin County had a FEMA disaster declaration?

Yes. Franklin County has been named in 6 FEMA declarations since 1 Jan 2024. The latest is EM-3633-KY (Severe Winter Storm), declared 24 Jan 2026.

Is Franklin County in a drought?

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