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Risk & Response

Smith County, KS

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 78.3 Relatively High

3,552
Population
6
Departments
6
Stations
2
Census Tracts

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
0.06
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
84th highest of 105
Life Safety per 100k
1.57
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
54th highest of 105
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$3.4M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
63rd highest of 105
Property Loss per Resident
$958
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
11th highest of 105

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 Smith County, the largest single contributor is Tornado, 33% of the life-safety total.

Smith County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $3.4M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 105 Kansas counties. Nationally, Smith County ranks 2920th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 951st for life safety per 100k residents, 2614th for property loss, and 146th for property loss per resident. 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 serving Smith County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Smith County.

Talk to us about Smith County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

41%
9%
49%
Property (buildings): $3.4M (41.2%)
Life safety: $766K (9.3%)
Agriculture: $4.1M (49.5%)

Total expected annual loss: $8,251,289 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 49% of expected annual loss in Smith County, 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)

Tornado
$252K
Cold Wave
$143K
Lightning
$131K
Heat Wave
$78K
Strong Wind
$66K
Ice Storm
$56K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$1.4M
Tornado
$637K
Hail
$599K
Strong Wind
$480K
Ice Storm
$156K
Winter Weather
$40K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Smith County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

100%
Volunteer: 100% (6)
Residents per Station
592
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
168.9
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 6 departments registered in NERIS Public for Smith County, KS. 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.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Smith County. Click column headers to sort.

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 boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 6 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Smith Center Fire Department 1,997 $428.2K Relatively High 1
Osborne Rural Fire Department # 1 736 $162.1K Very High 2
Smith County Rural Fire Protection District #1 604 $130.3K Very High 0
Lebanon Volunteer Fire Department 362 $78.1K Very High 1
Gaylord Fire Department 263 $56.6K Very High 1
Athol City & Rural Fire Department 154 $33.6K Very High 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

7.3%
Poverty Rate
29.3%
Age 65+
16.6%
Disability Rate
6.6%
Uninsured
84.2%
Pre-1980 Housing
3.9%
Mobile Homes
22.0%
Vacancy Rate
2.2%
Wood Heat
$59,445
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

5
Last 10 Years
15
Last 25 Years
Severe Storm
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