Natural disaster risk in Morrow County, Oregon

Oregon · population 12,173 · FIPS 41049

Overall: very low risk

Morrow County has a composite risk score of 26.4 out of 100 — higher than 26% of US counties. It ranks 31 of 36 in Oregon (1 = highest risk). Its highest-rated hazards are wildfire, ice storm, landslide.

Drought now: Yes: D3 Extreme Drought, 17 weeks

Yes. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, 12.02% of Morrow County is in D3 Extreme Drought. Some of it has been at D3 or worse for 17 weeks in a row. In all, 73.35% of the county is in drought (D1 to D4).

Drought in Morrow 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

MeasureRating and score
Overall risk
Expected annual loss, adjusted for social vulnerability and community resilience.
Very low 26.4
Expected annual loss
About $9.4 million a year, on average, across all 18 hazards.
Very low 32.4
Social vulnerability
Higher means people may find it harder to prepare and recover.
Relatively low 26.6
Community resilience
Higher means a stronger ability to prepare, adapt and recover.
Very low 2.8

Risk by hazard

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

HazardRisk rating and score
Wildfire Relatively moderate 91
Ice storm Relatively moderate 78
Landslide Relatively low 71
Heat wave Relatively low 50
Winter weather Relatively low 41
Inland (riverine) flooding Relatively low 40
Hail Relatively low 37
Cold wave Relatively low 31
Volcanic activity Very low 63
Earthquake Very low 57
Avalanche Very low 47
Drought Very low 21
Lightning Very low 15
Strong wind Very low 13
Tornado Very low 4
Coastal flooding Not applicable
Hurricane Not applicable
Tsunami Not applicable

FEMA disaster declarations for Morrow County

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

Yes. Morrow County has been named in 2 FEMA declarations since 1 Jan 2024. The latest is FM-5514-OR (Battle Mountain Fire Complex), declared 21 Jul 2024.

DeclarationKindIncidentDeclaredIndividual assistance here
FM-5514-OR Fire management Battle Mountain Fire Complex 21 Jul 2024 No
FM-5511-OR Fire management Lone Rock Fire 18 Jul 2024 No

All FEMA declarations in Oregon, 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 Morrow County, Oregon?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the overall risk in Morrow County as very low, with a score of 26.4 out of 100 (higher than 26% of US counties). That is a comparison with other US counties, not a forecast.

What are the biggest natural hazards in Morrow County?

The hazards rated highest for Morrow County are wildfire (relatively moderate), ice storm (relatively moderate), landslide (relatively low).

What is the flood risk in Morrow County?

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

Has Morrow County had a FEMA disaster declaration?

Yes. Morrow County has been named in 2 FEMA declarations since 1 Jan 2024. The latest is FM-5514-OR (Battle Mountain Fire Complex), declared 21 Jul 2024.

Is Morrow County in a drought?

Yes. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, 12.02% of Morrow County is in D3 Extreme Drought. Some of it has been at D3 or worse for 17 weeks in a row. In all, 73.35% of the county is in drought (D1 to D4).

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