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Risk & Response

Rhode Island

Statewide risk profile

1.1M
Population
5
Counties
58
Departments
193
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
1.98
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
50th highest of 50
Life Safety per 100k
0.18
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
48th highest of 50
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$188.7M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
49th highest of 50
Property Loss per Resident
$171
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
48th 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 Rhode Island, the largest single contributor is Heat Wave, 39% of the life-safety total.

Rhode Island carries an expected 2 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $188.7M 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 Rhode Island enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Rhode Island.

Talk to us about Rhode Island See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

87%
13%
Property (buildings): $188.7M (87.1%)
Life safety: $27.1M (12.5%)
Agriculture: $894K (0.4%)

Total expected annual loss: $216,763,321 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.

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)

Heat Wave
$10.5M
Cold Wave
$8.5M
Lightning
$2.7M
Strong Wind
$1.5M
Earthquake
$1.4M
Tornado
$1.1M

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$152.9M
Hurricane
$18.3M
Earthquake
$6.1M
Coastal Flooding
$5.0M
Tornado
$4.2M
Ice Storm
$776K

County Risk Map

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

Fire Service Profile

41%
17%
38%
Career: 41% (24)
Combination: 17% (10)
Volunteer: 38% (22)
Unreported: 3% (2)
Residents per Station
5,709
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
17.5
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 58 departments registered in NERIS Public for Rhode Island. 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 Rhode Island 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 5 counties
County ▲ Population ▲ Departments ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲
Providence County 664,854 25 $19.6M Relatively Low
Kent County 171,456 13 $3.1M Relatively Low
Washington County 130,344 15 $2.1M Relatively Low
Newport County 84,657 7 $1.3M Very Low
Bristol County 50,490 3 $1.1M Relatively Low
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

11.2%
Poverty Rate
18.7%
Age 65+
13.8%
Disability Rate
4.4%
Uninsured
70.9%
Pre-1980 Housing
0.9%
Mobile Homes
9.1%
Vacancy Rate
1.1%
Wood Heat
$93,658
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

29
Last 10 Years
81
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