01 / Understanding the measure
What does this data tell us?
The dataset records federal major disaster declarations published through OpenFEMA. This selection covers the fifty states and excludes tribal requests, Washington DC and territories. Distinct disaster numbers are administrative records, not a complete inventory of physical events, damaged properties or assistance recipients.
This counts administrative declarations, not storms, insurance claims, total property damage or an individual property’s risk.
02 / Over time
How do declarations vary by year?
Major disaster declarations · 2021–2025
View the exact annual values
| Year | Declarations |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 |
| 2022 | 40 |
| 2023 | 58 |
| 2024 | 84 |
| 2025 | 40 |
Understanding the records
What does a FEMA major disaster declaration count?
This dataset records federal major disaster declarations published through OpenFEMA. It counts unique disaster numbers to avoid duplications from multiple area designations. The data represents declarations, not a comprehensive list of all physical disaster events.
Our report selects records marked DR, the major-disaster declaration type, and counts each disaster number once. Emergency declarations and fire-management declarations are outside this selection. Counting rows without this distinction would answer a different question.
The figures here do not tell us how many properties were damaged, how many insurance claims were filed, or the total cost of recovery. Those questions require separate evidence.
Annual comparison / 2021–2025
How many major disaster declarations were recorded each year?
There were 40 major disaster declarations in 2025 within this selection, compared with 84 in 2024. The count decreased by 44 (52.4%) between those calendar years.
2024 had the largest annual count in this report’s window, at 84 declarations. Across the full 2021–2025 period, the arithmetic average was 55.4 declarations per year. This historical average is not a forecast.
Declarations are grouped by their official declaration dates within full calendar years provided. Changes in the number of declarations over time do not indicate changes in the severity or scale of damage from disasters.
The incident classification
Which incident types appear in the declarations?
Severe Storm is the most frequent incident label in this selection, appearing on 119 declarations, or 43.0% of the total.
The breakdown uses FEMA’s incident-type labels as recorded in the selected source rows. A broad label does not detail every hazard involved in a declaration. The percentages describe shares of this report’s declaration count, not shares of financial losses or damaged properties.
| Incident label | Declarations | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Storm | 119 | 43.0% |
| Flood | 65 | 23.5% |
| Hurricane | 25 | 9.0% |
| Fire | 15 | 5.4% |
| Tropical Storm | 11 | 4.0% |
| Winter Storm | 10 | 3.6% |
| Severe Ice Storm | 9 | 3.2% |
| Tornado | 9 | 3.2% |
| Snowstorm | 6 | 2.2% |
| Mud/Landslide | 4 | 1.4% |
| Tropical Depression | 1 | 0.4% |
| Coastal Storm | 1 | 0.4% |
| Straight-Line Winds | 1 | 0.4% |
| Other | 1 | 0.4% |
Shares use 277 declarations as the denominator. Rounded shares may not sum to exactly 100%. These are source classifications, not shares of damage or financial losses.
Comparing places
Which states have the most major disaster declarations?
Tennessee has the largest count in this fifty-state selection: 15 declarations during 2021–2025.
Data includes declarations affecting the fifty US states only. It excludes Washington DC, US territories, and tribal government requests. Counts are raw and not adjusted for state population sizes or other exposure factors, so they should not be interpreted as measures of household risk.
The full state comparison below is sorted by count. Equal values are ties; alphabetical order only determines their display order. A state with fewer declarations is not necessarily safer, and raw counts alone cannot establish exposure, vulnerability or readiness.
Research in context
How should you use these disaster statistics?
Comparisons use consistently defined records filtered by date and source, ensuring government data and methods are cited. The dataset does not provide information about financial losses, insurance claims, or restoration demands. Remediation employment data is a separate topic and is not linked as causal evidence with these declarations.
For a broader research picture, explore U.S. remediation services employment and wage statistics. That report describes a defined industry using BLS data. Comparing the reports can help frame a research question, but it does not prove a relationship between declaration counts and jobs.
The FEMA data download provides the state counts, while the site methodology explains our approach to sources and calculations. When reusing a chart or table, keep its period and scope alongside it.
03 / Across the states
Major disaster declarations by state
Fifty-state comparison · 2021–2025
| Relative count | ||
|---|---|---|
| TNTennessee | 15 | |
| AKAlaska | 13 | |
| KYKentucky | 13 | |
| KSKansas | 11 | |
| MOMissouri | 11 | |
| NENebraska | 10 | |
| WVWest Virginia | 10 | |
| VTVermont | 9 | |
| CACalifornia | 8 | |
| FLFlorida | 8 | |
| MEMaine | 8 | |
| NHNew Hampshire | 8 | |
| NYNew York | 8 | |
| NDNorth Dakota | 8 | |
| OKOklahoma | 8 | |
| ARArkansas | 7 | |
| MTMontana | 7 | |
| WAWashington | 7 | |
| GAGeorgia | 6 | |
| IAIowa | 6 | |
| MSMississippi | 6 | |
| TXTexas | 6 | |
| VAVirginia | 6 | |
| LALouisiana | 5 | |
| MNMinnesota | 5 | |
| NCNorth Carolina | 5 | |
| SDSouth Dakota | 5 | |
| ALAlabama | 4 | |
| HIHawaii | 4 | |
| ILIllinois | 4 | |
| NMNew Mexico | 4 | |
| OROregon | 4 | |
| RIRhode Island | 4 | |
| SCSouth Carolina | 4 | |
| COColorado | 3 | |
| CTConnecticut | 3 | |
| MIMichigan | 3 | |
| NJNew Jersey | 3 | |
| IDIdaho | 2 | |
| INIndiana | 2 | |
| MAMassachusetts | 2 | |
| PAPennsylvania | 2 | |
| UTUtah | 2 | |
| WYWyoming | 2 | |
| AZArizona | 1 | |
| DEDelaware | 1 | |
| MDMaryland | 1 | |
| NVNevada | 1 | |
| OHOhio | 1 | |
| WIWisconsin | 1 |
No matching states. Try a full state name.
Counts are specific to the scope above. Missing or suppressed values are never treated as zero.
Know the limits
Does this count every natural disaster?
This dataset does not count every natural disaster. It includes only distinct major disaster declarations as defined by FEMA, grouped by declaration date, and covering the fifty states without tribal requests. It excludes other types of declarations and some natural or physical events. For current disaster assistance eligibility, readers should consult FEMA's official resources rather than relying on historical major declaration totals presented here.
Find official FEMA disaster declarations ↗04 / Methodology & sources
Where these numbers come from.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
OpenFEMA · Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
Original dataset documentation ↗- Reference period
- 2021–2025
- Selection
- Major disaster declarations · DR
- Geographic coverage
- 50 states · non-tribal requests
- Source snapshots
- September 13, 2026
How we prepared the data
Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, declarationType DR, tribalRequest false. Include declaration dates in the displayed calendar-year window. Deduplicate designated-area rows by disasterNumber. Include the fifty states; exclude DC, territories and tribal requests. A declaration covering several designated areas is counted once. Different federal declarations may refer to the same physical event.
What this cannot tell us
Declaration counts do not measure damage severity, the frequency of physical events or household risk. Different declarations may refer to the same physical event. This selection excludes emergency and fire-management declarations as well as tribal requests, Washington DC and territories.
OpenAI assisted with explanatory prose. Statistics and charts are rendered from source data using code. This local sample has not passed a production editorial review.
Full methodology & preview limitations ↗