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Arborlook Insights
Risk & Response

Delaware

Statewide risk profile

1.0M
Population
3
Counties
65
Departments
105
Stations

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
5.45
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
48th highest of 50
Life Safety per 100k
0.53
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
35th highest of 50
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$283.6M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
47th highest of 50
Property Loss per Resident
$278
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
33rd highest of 50

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Delaware, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 50% of the life-safety total.

Delaware carries an expected 5 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $283.6M in building loss per year. Ranks compare the 50 states. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments in Delaware enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Delaware.

Talk to us about Delaware See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

75%
20%
Property (buildings): $283.6M (75.2%)
Life safety: $74.6M (19.8%)
Agriculture: $19.1M (5.1%)

Total expected annual loss: $377,267,065 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Agriculture is 5% of expected annual loss in Delaware, so total loss overstates property loss here. The property figure above counts building loss only.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Cold Wave
$37.6M
Heat Wave
$12.0M
Inland Flooding
$9.3M
Tornado
$5.7M
Earthquake
$2.7M
Winter Weather
$2.7M

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$204.8M
Hurricane
$38.7M
Coastal Flooding
$19.0M
Earthquake
$9.9M
Tornado
$5.3M
Strong Wind
$2.6M

County Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across counties in this state. Click any county for its full profile.

Fire Service Profile

55%
34%
9%
Career: 2% (1)
Combination: 55% (36)
Volunteer: 34% (22)
Unreported: 9% (6)
Residents per Station
9,726
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
10.3
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 65 departments registered in NERIS Public for Delaware. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

County Rankings

Counties in Delaware ranked by risk. Click column headers to sort. Click a county to see its departments.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department and station counts are derived from boundaries self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. A department serving several counties is counted in each, so the Departments column adds up to more than the statewide department total. Risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 3 counties
County ▲ Population ▲ Departments ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲
New Castle County 577,961 25 $35.0M Relatively Moderate
Sussex County 255,626 26 $22.9M Relatively High
Kent County 187,604 20 $16.7M Relatively Moderate
No counties match your search.
Don't see your department? Profiles exist for every department in NERIS Public with a published boundary polygon. Departments registered without a boundary, or not yet registered with NERIS, do not have a page yet because the analysis is geography-based. See why a department might be missing or contact us and we will look into it.

Risk Snapshot

10.4%
Poverty Rate
20.6%
Age 65+
14.1%
Disability Rate
6.3%
Uninsured
41.9%
Pre-1980 Housing
7.0%
Mobile Homes
13.4%
Vacancy Rate
0.6%
Wood Heat
$90,377
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

12
Last 10 Years
38
Last 25 Years
Hurricane
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo