FEMA National Risk Index
- Provides
- Modeled natural-hazard risk scores.
- Geography
- County-level.
- Used for
- Heat, wildfire, drought, flood, and the main risk score.
- Refresh
- Refreshed when FEMA source data changes.
Methodology
Public data.
Weird geography.
Honest receipts.
The site is allowed to be funny because the math underneath it is not random. Every ZIP report starts with public government datasets, gets matched through geography, and ends with a readable risk summary.
The pipeline
How a ZIP becomes a report.
A ZIP code is only the starting signal. We convert it into the best available public geography, connect that geography to FEMA risk and disaster history, then separately measure proximity to current EPA TRI-reporting facilities, decode their available chemical filings, and attach signed-in live conditions, Superfund proximity, county radon context, and EPA ECHO compliance and enforcement records, plus CDC PLACES modeled health context, USGS earthquake receipts, and separately labeled water-system and nearby-sampling records. The result is translated into plain English without pretending county and ZIP-area data are house-level or person-level facts.
- ZIP entered
- Census ZCTA match
- County FIPS
- FEMA risk data
- Disaster receipts
- EPA facility proximity
- Live and local context
- Readable report
Sources
What we use right now.
The report mixes slow-moving public records with live observations. Every row below says what the source contributes, which geography it describes, and how fresh we expect it to be.
Core report
OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
- Provides
- Historical federally declared disasters.
- Geography
- County or designated-area records.
- Used for
- The Disaster Receipts section and recent disaster history.
- Refresh
- Planned monthly refresh.
US Census ZCTA-to-County Relationship
- Provides
- The geography bridge between ZIP-like areas and counties.
- Geography
- Census ZCTA and county relationship data.
- Used for
- Matching a ZIP search to the right county FIPS code.
- Refresh
- Updated when Census geography changes.
Industrial receipts
EPA Toxics Release Inventory Basic Data
- Provides
- Facilities, listed chemicals, filing type, release pathways, quantities, and EPA classification flags.
- Geography
- Facility coordinates near a Census ZCTA internal point.
- Used for
- The Industrial Chemical Reports section and its chemical-level filing details.
- Refresh
- Currently uses reporting year 2024; rebuilt when EPA publishes the next annual file.
US Census ZCTA Gazetteer
- Provides
- A consistent internal point for each ZIP-like Census area.
- Geography
- Census ZCTA, not a home or parcel coordinate.
- Used for
- Measuring straight-line distance to TRI-reporting facilities.
- Refresh
- Updated when Census publishes a new Gazetteer release.
Live conditions
AirNow and National Weather Service
- Provides
- Current AQI observations, hourly forecasts, and active alerts.
- Geography
- Nearby reporting area and NWS forecast point.
- Used for
- The signed-in Current Conditions section.
- Refresh
- Requested live when a signed-in reader approaches the section.
Environmental context
EPA Superfund geospatial and SEMS status data
- Provides
- NPL and Superfund Alternative Approach site coordinates, listing status, and human-exposure control status.
- Geography
- Straight-line distance from a Census ZCTA internal point.
- Used for
- Nearest Superfund site files and proximity counts.
- Refresh
- Preprocessed from EPA snapshots so ZIP reports stay fast.
EPA Map of Radon Zones
- Provides
- County-level Zone 1, 2, or 3 radon potential.
- Geography
- County-level; never a home measurement.
- Used for
- Radon potential context and a prompt to test the building.
- Refresh
- Rebuilt when EPA updates its county zone table.
EPA Enforcement and Compliance History Online
- Provides
- Regulated facilities, inspections, compliance status, enforcement actions, and penalties.
- Geography
- Straight-line proximity from a Census ZCTA internal point.
- Used for
- The signed-in EPA Compliance Receipts section.
- Refresh
- Preprocessed from EPA's weekly ECHO Exporter download.
Health, earth, and water
CDC PLACES ZCTA Data
- Provides
- Model-based adult prevalence estimates with confidence limits for selected health and access measures.
- Geography
- Census ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA).
- Used for
- The signed-in Health Context section.
- Refresh
- Preprocessed from the CDC PLACES 2025 release.
USGS National Seismic Hazard Models and Earthquake Catalog
- Provides
- Probabilistic reference-ground hazard curves plus recent and historical recorded earthquakes.
- Geography
- USGS model interpolation and a 100 km radius around the Census ZCTA internal point.
- Used for
- The signed-in Earthquake Receipts section.
- Refresh
- Long-term model values are cached; recent events refresh every 15 minutes and history weekly.
EPA SDWIS / ECHO and the Water Quality Portal
- Provides
- Public drinking-water-system compliance records plus nearby environmental sampling inventories.
- Geography
- Census place matching for possible community systems and a 10-mile radius around the ZCTA internal point for samples.
- Used for
- The signed-in Water Receipts section.
- Refresh
- Live source responses are cached daily; EPA drinking-water compliance data are reported quarterly.
EPA receipts
Nearby industrial filing. Chemical detail. Careful conclusion.
Distance
Facilities are ordered by straight-line distance from the Census ZCTA internal point for the searched ZIP. That point is a consistent geographic reference, not your home.
Form R
Detailed Form R filings can include reported quantities for air, water, land, and off-site transfers. Off-site means the material was transferred elsewhere for management; it was not necessarily released beside the facility.
Form A
Form A is EPA's shorter certification for an eligible lower-volume filing. Exact quantities are not published, and a Form A filing does not mean zero releases.
Hazard is not exposure
PBT, PFAS, and carcinogen labels describe the reported chemical. Exposure depends on quantity, pathway, transport, duration, distance, weather, and how contact could occur. TRI is not a sensor reading or a measurement of toxin levels at an address.
Scores
What 100 actually means here.
Category scores are FEMA's normalized 0-100 signals. The headline score gives FEMA's overall score 60% of the weight, the middle two hazard signals 25%, and the second-highest hazard 15%. This keeps the official overall signal dominant while checking whether elevated risk is broad.
FEMA's official overall rating also acts as a guardrail. "Pretty fucked" requires at least two hazards scoring 50 or higher, while "extremely fucked" requires at least three hazards scoring 75 or higher. Lower official FEMA ratings can cap the final tier. A higher result is a stronger public risk signal, not a guaranteed disaster or an address-level prediction.
Barely
Not nothing. Not panic.
Mildly
Worth knowing. Worth checking.
Moderately
Several receipts deserve attention.
Pretty
The receipts are getting loud.
Extremely
Broad, very-high signals. Read twice.
Limits
Where the receipts stop.
A useful report says what it cannot know. These are boundaries, not footnotes we hope nobody reads.
Geography
- This is not an address-level, parcel-level, or house-level report.
- ZIP codes are postal routes, not perfect risk boundaries.
- County-level data can hide substantial variation inside large counties.
- Proximity starts from a Census ZCTA internal point, not your address.
Facilities and exposure
- TRI, Superfund, and ECHO records do not prove contamination or exposure at an address.
- TRI covers listed chemicals and covered facilities, not every local pollution source.
- Form A filings omit exact release quantities and do not mean zero releases.
- A permit is not a violation, and no listed violation does not prove compliance.
- Agency reporting completeness varies by program, state, and facility type.
Models and live context
- FEMA scores are planning-model signals, not personal predictions.
- CDC PLACES values are modeled population estimates, not diagnoses or evidence of causation.
- USGS hazard curves and recorded events do not predict exact shaking or the next earthquake.
- EPA radon zones describe county potential and cannot replace a building test.
- Live AQI observations are preliminary public-health reporting data, not regulatory determinations.
Water and decisions
- A Census place match finds possible public water systems, not a confirmed household provider.
- Nearby environmental samples are not tap-water tests and may use different media and methods.
- Water systems, monitoring stations, watersheds, and ZIP codes do not align cleanly.
- This is not emergency, legal, insurance, real-estate, financial, or medical advice.
- We are independent and are not affiliated with any government agency.
Updates
Slow data should be cached. Fast data should be live.
Disaster declarations are historical and slow-moving, so we keep them prebuilt for speed and plan a monthly refresh. EPA TRI facility and chemical filings are also preprocessed because the complete annual file changes slowly. The current receipt uses reporting year 2024. Facilities submit 2025 activity by July 1, 2026; EPA generally begins publishing preliminary facility-level data later in July and revises it through the fall.
The heavier sections are requested only as a reader approaches them, so the main FEMA report can render immediately. AirNow and National Weather Service data are requested live because they change quickly. Superfund and radon records are preprocessed because those source tables change slowly. ECHO's national facility summary is also preprocessed into small ZIP-level shards rather than queried during every report; EPA updates the source Exporter weekly. CDC PLACES estimates are annual and preprocessed by ZCTA for the same reason. USGS long-term hazard curves are slow-moving and cached, while the recent earthquake catalog is refreshed every 15 minutes. Water-system and sampling records are requested only for signed-in readers and cached daily.
Next phase
More receipts, less guessing.
The goal is to make each report more local, more current, and more useful without making the page slow. These are the next data layers we want to test.
- Parcel-level flood map links
- Additional state and local environmental records