FEMA Launches Full Application of the National Risk Index with More Customization and Reporting and Data Updates

Yesterday FEMA announced the full application launch of the National Risk Index, an online mapping application that visually identifies traits of communities most at risk from natural hazards. It provides a holistic view of community risk by providing baseline relative risk scores. It measures a community’s risk for 18 natural hazards, in addition to resilience, social vulnerability, and expected annual loss. The Index helps users understand natural hazard risk and to support informed risk reduction decisions for mitigation planning and emergency management. By providing standardized risk data and an overview of multiple risk factors, the tool can help communities, especially those with limited flood mapping and risk assessment capabilities, prepare for natural hazards. The tool was originally released in November 2020 at a limited capacity. Now, fully available for use by state, local, tribal, and territorial partners, the Index includes the ability to generate more customized analyses and reports, including community risk profiles and risk comparison reports for any county or Census tract. The tool is free and designed to be easy to use, and data from the site can be downloaded. Read more and access the tool at FEMA.