Pinal County, Arizona: hazard history
What federal records show has already happened here: disaster declarations, storms, and flood insurance claims. This is a record of the past. It is not a forecast and not a hazard score.
At a glance
What this means
- The event NOAA recorded most often here is Thunderstorm Wind, with 338 records.
- The costliest single record is Wildfire in 2021: $8.0M in property damage, in the dollars of that year.
- The deadliest record is Excessive Heat in 2023, with 12 deaths.
- FEMA has declared 23 disasters that named this county, most often for fire.
- The worst year for flood insurance claims was 1983, with 18 claims.
What this can't tell you
- What happens next. Past events do not set the odds of the next one.
- Anything before 1996 from NOAA. That is when NOAA began recording every event type; earlier files hold only tornado, hail and wind, so they are left out on purpose.
- Today's cost. Damage and payments are in the dollars of the year they happened.
- A flood rate. NFIP counts claims but not how many homes were insured, and many flooded homes carry no flood insurance.
- Earthquakes, wildfire perimeters or radar-detected hail. Those records are not tied to counties.
Federal disaster declarations (FEMA)
FEMA declared 23 disasters that named Pinal County between 1966 and 2025.
| Incident type | Disasters | Most recent |
|---|---|---|
| Fire | 10 | 2025 |
| Flood | 6 | 1993 |
| Severe Storm | 3 | 2006 |
| Biological | 2 | 2020 |
| Drought | 1 | 1977 |
| Hurricane | 1 | 2005 |
Most recent declarations
- FM-5585 2025 · Fire · Cody Fire
- FM-5505 2024 · Fire · Shake Fire
- FM-5493 2024 · Fire · Simmons Fire
- FM-5389 2021 · Fire · Telegraph Fire
- FM-5385 2021 · Fire · Margo Fire
- EM-3442 2020 · Biological · Covid-19
- DR-4524 2020 · Biological · Covid-19 Pandemic
- FM-5188 2017 · Fire · Roach Fire
- FM-5086 2015 · Fire · Kearny River Fire
- DR-1660 2006 · Severe Storm · Severe Storms And Flooding
Not counted above: 35 statewide declarations, which covered every county in Arizona. A declaration is a decision to send federal help, not a measure of how bad an event was. Records run from 1953. Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
Storms recorded by NOAA, by type
| Event type | Records | Deaths | Injuries | Property damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 338 | 0 | 9 | $13.7M |
| Excessive Heat | 265 | 66 | 24 | $0 |
| Drought | 190 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Dust Storm | 148 | 5 | 1 | $1.4M |
| Flash Flood | 131 | 5 | 2 | $7.0M |
| Hail | 67 | 0 | 1 | $120K |
| Heat | 62 | 69 | 4 | $0 |
| Heavy Rain | 44 | 0 | 0 | $400K |
| Winter Storm | 40 | 0 | 0 | $122K |
| Wildfire | 28 | 0 | 10 | $13.4M |
| Flood | 26 | 0 | 0 | $9.0M |
| Heavy Snow | 23 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Dense Fog | 9 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Lightning | 9 | 1 | 2 | $1.6M |
| Funnel Cloud | 8 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Tornado | 7 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| High Wind | 6 | 0 | 0 | $4K |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 3 | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Debris Flow | 3 | 0 | 0 | $3K |
| Strong Wind | 3 | 0 | 0 | $9K |
| Winter Weather | 3 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Dust Devil | 2 | 0 | 0 | $10K |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 2 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Frost/Freeze | 2 | 0 | 0 | $20K |
Records start in 1996. Damage is NOAA's estimate at the time, in nominal dollars, and is often rounded; it is not insurance claims data. A storm that crossed two NOAA zones in this county is recorded, and counted, once per zone. A storm filed against a forecast zone is counted in every county that zone covers, with the whole storm's damage; do not add these figures across counties.
Year by year
NOAA storm event records in Pinal County each year. The busiest year was 2021, with 147 records.
Show the numbers for every year
| Year | Records | Deaths | Property damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 13 | 0 | $0 |
| 1997 | 21 | 0 | $0 |
| 1998 | 16 | 0 | $81K |
| 1999 | 17 | 0 | $300K |
| 2000 | 14 | 1 | $205K |
| 2001 | 12 | 0 | $22K |
| 2002 | 12 | 0 | $539K |
| 2003 | 9 | 1 | $201K |
| 2004 | 17 | 0 | $2.0M |
| 2005 | 10 | 0 | $260K |
| 2006 | 14 | 2 | $812K |
| 2007 | 20 | 0 | $5.6M |
| 2008 | 11 | 0 | $769K |
| 2009 | 12 | 0 | $439K |
| 2010 | 35 | 0 | $941K |
| 2011 | 75 | 2 | $2.6M |
| 2012 | 45 | 1 | $755K |
| 2013 | 46 | 4 | $1.6M |
| 2014 | 52 | 1 | $737K |
| 2015 | 31 | 0 | $640K |
| 2016 | 36 | 0 | $328K |
| 2017 | 32 | 0 | $858K |
| 2018 | 111 | 7 | $1.0M |
| 2019 | 68 | 9 | $152K |
| 2020 | 122 | 16 | $152K |
| 2021 | 147 | 32 | $19.8M |
| 2022 | 136 | 16 | $3.0M |
| 2023 | 107 | 25 | $114K |
| 2024 | 86 | 22 | $1.1M |
| 2025 | 89 | 8 | $1.9M |
| 2026 | 3 | 2 | $0 |
Years with no record are left out of the table, not shown as zero.
Notable events
Costliest records
- Wildfire · Jun 4, 2021$8.0MNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 967350
- Flood · Jul 25, 2021$7.5MNOAA name: Pinal County · NOAA record 976446
- Thunderstorm Wind · Aug 13, 2007$5.0MNOAA name: Pinal County · NOAA record 53717
- Flash Flood · Sep 18, 2004$2.0MNOAA name: Pinal County · NOAA record 5422845
- Wildfire · Apr 8, 2021$2.0MNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 952997
Deadliest records
- Excessive Heat · Jul 14, 202312 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 1127012
- Excessive Heat · Jun 12, 202111 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 970319
- Dust Storm · Oct 29, 20133 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · $500K damage · NOAA record 479305
- Excessive Heat · Jun 29, 20193 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 875142
- Excessive Heat · Jul 10, 20193 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 875155
Each line is one NOAA record, linked to its page at NOAA. One large storm can appear more than once if NOAA recorded it in several zones of this county. Dollars are nominal.
Flood insurance claims (NFIP)
The National Flood Insurance Program paid $3.3M on 148 claims in Pinal County from 1978 to 2024.
| Year | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 18 | $306K |
| 2013 | 10 | $98K |
| 2006 | 9 | $263K |
| 1993 | 9 | $146K |
| 1978 | 8 | $93K |
A count of claims, not a rate: NFIP publishes no count of insured homes beside it, and most flood damage is uninsured. Nominal dollars. Records run from 1978 to 2024; claims filed without a county code are not on any county page. Source: FEMA OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims.
Hazard vulnerability analysis: the probability column for a facility in Pinal County
A hazard vulnerability analysis rates each hazard for probability, impact, preparedness and response. Probability is the one column the county’s federal record can fill — NCEI storm events from 1996 to 2026 and FEMA declarations naming the county — and this is what it says for a facility here, on the 0–3 scale of the all-hazards structure surveyors expect. The other six columns are the facility’s own judgment about its building, and Calchis leaves them blank.
| Hazard | Prob. | Basis, from the county record |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Thunderstorm | 3 | 414 NCEI events over 31 years (13.35/yr). 3 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Flood, External | 3 | 201 NCEI events over 31 years (6.48/yr). 6 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Snow Fall / Blizzard / Ice Storm | 3 | 66 NCEI events over 31 years (2.13/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Temperature Extremes | 3 | 334 NCEI events over 31 years (10.77/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Drought | 3 | 190 NCEI events over 31 years (6.13/yr). 1 federal disaster declaration naming the county. |
| Wild Fire | 3 | 28 NCEI events over 31 years (0.90/yr). 10 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Hurricane / Tropical Storm | 2 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. 1 federal disaster declaration naming the county. |
| Tornado | 2 | 7 NCEI events over 31 years (0.23/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| High Wind (non-convective) | 2 | 9 NCEI events over 31 years (0.29/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Epidemic | 2 | 2 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Earthquake | 1 | No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Landslide | 1 | 3 NCEI events over 31 years (0.10/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Tidal Wave / Tsunami | 1 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Volcano | 1 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Dam Inundation | 1 | No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
A dash means the record does not speak to that hazard; it is not a zero. Whether a finished document satisfies the CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule is the facility’s finding and its surveyor’s. Complete the HVA for a facility in Pinal County — the technological, human and hazardous-materials rows, the six facility columns, the approval and the printed document — or read the sample analysis on that page first.
How this page was made
- Every figure is counted from public federal records held by Calchis: NOAA NCEI Storm Events, FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, and FEMA NFIP claims. Nothing is modeled or estimated.
- NOAA files some events against a county and others against an NWS forecast zone, and publishes a code for both. Records are counted as Pinal County by that code — county records by the county's own FIPS code, zone records through the National Weather Service's published list of which counties each zone covers. No name matching is involved. Of 1,419 records, 635 were filed against this county and 784 against a forecast zone covering it. A zone storm is counted in every county its zone covers, and its damage figure is the whole storm's, not this county's share — NOAA does not publish that split. So these figures describe this county; they must not be added up across counties. Left out: 6% of Arizona's NOAA records, which are marine zones or zones NWS does not map to a county.
- Counts last rebuilt from the source records on Sep 15, 2026.
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Recorded history from federal public records. Not a hazard score, a risk score, or a forecast, and not a substitute for professional actuarial or emergency-management assessment. Decision-support intelligence — not a primary alerting or dispatch system. Verify against official sources.