Pandemic/Epidemic

Hazard in Public Health and Healthcare

A slow-building, long-duration health hazard that strains every sector at once through illness and absenteeism.

Plans also call it: influenza pandemic, covid-19, public health emergency, communicable disease, disease outbreak

Talk to us about Pandemic/EpidemicAll 73 hazards →

What you’d hand your council

The first page of a Pandemic/Epidemic evidence brief: likelihood, impact and readiness on your own scale, every figure sourced.

Evidence brief for Cedar Ridge County (example)

September 14, 2026

Pandemic/Epidemic

Hazard in Public Health and Healthcare, on the established threats & hazards list

Impact
5432112345

Likelihood

Likelihood
3

Possible — Expected occasionally — roughly once in 10 to 50 years (2–10% chance in any year).

Impact
4

Major — Severe effects — casualties possible, serious damage across a significant share of the jurisdiction, essential services disrupted for weeks, outside assistance needed.

Readiness
3

Moderate — The organization has a generally established capability to manage this threat or hazard, but identifiable gaps remain. The organization could likely perform many required actions, though effectiveness may vary depending on conditions, staffing, resources, or complexity.

  • 2source documents
  • 58verified mentions
  • 2federal declarations
  • —NRI risk score
Worked example: Cedar Ridge County is fictional. The scores illustrate the format and are nobody's decision. Open a full sample brief →

The national record

FEMA’s National Risk Index doesn’t model Pandemic/Epidemic. Your team fills it with local evidence, and Hazzard shows the gap rather than a zero.

How it maps

The same hazard in the vocabularies your plan and FEMA already use.

FEMA National Risk Index
Not covered
FEMA declaration incident type
Biological167 declarations on record
NOAA Storm Events type
Not covered
Hazzard category
Public Health and Healthcare, disease and living systems

The national record

What the federal data says about Pandemic/Epidemic

The same national sources a Hazzard brief starts from. For your jurisdiction we narrow each one to your county and its neighbors.

167 federal declarations since 2020

Declarations FEMA filed as “Biological”, by year (2026 to date)

0901802020: 165 declarations2021: 2 declarations2020: 1652020
OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, as of 2026-09-27. Counts distinct disasters; major, emergency and fire-management declarations.

In your plan

What a Pandemic/Epidemic profile needs, and where each part comes from

A local hazard mitigation plan profiles each hazard the same way (44 CFR 201.6). Here is how Hazzard fills each part for Pandemic/Epidemic.

  1. Location

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    Your documents

    No national layer maps Pandemic/Epidemic. We draw the geographic extent from your plans, studies and annexes, cited to the page.

  2. Extent

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    Your documents

    The magnitude your plans use for Pandemic/Epidemic (a scale, a depth, an acreage, a duration), read from your documents and cited, so the profile states the strength you plan for.

  3. Previous occurrences

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    National data

    Every FEMA declaration filed as Biological that included your county, back to 1953, alongside the events your own records and after-action reports describe.

  4. Probability of future events

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    Your team decides

    No national dataset gives a frequency for Pandemic/Epidemic. Your team scores likelihood on your scale from the evidence we organize.

  5. Vulnerability and impacts

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(ii)

    Your documents

    The Census population profile and HHS emPOWER counts for context; the consequences themselves come from your plans and exercises.

  6. The assessment itself

    Your team decides

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for Pandemic/Epidemic are drafted with every source attached, and a person on your team accepts each one. Hazzard never records a score on its own.

How we can help

How we’d help you prepare for Pandemic/Epidemic

  1. 1

    We pull who is most exposed

    HHS emPOWER counts, the Census population profile and any biological declarations for your county.

  2. 2

    We read health and emergency plans together

    Your public-health emergency plan alongside the EOP, so what each says about Pandemic/Epidemic is cited side by side.

  3. 3

    You leave with a cited brief

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for Pandemic/Epidemic on your own scale, every figure tied to its source, ready for the planning team or the council.

Also in Public Health and Healthcare

Preparing for Pandemic/Epidemic

Prepare for Pandemic/Epidemic with health and emergency plans in one place.

Health emergencies are planned in one office and responded to by several. We read both sides so the assessment of your community's readiness is one argument, not two. A person replies within one business day.

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