Disaster Data / States / Alabama / Houston County

County

Houston County, Alabama

Houston County recorded 20 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 11 major disasters, 9 emergencies, and 0 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is hurricane.

Highlighted: Houston County, AL

Totals: FY2000–FY2025 · Page last rebuilt Sep 12, 2026 · the current in-progress fiscal year is not included in totals

20
Declarations since FY2000
11
Major disasters (DR)
9
Emergencies (EM)
0
Fire management (FM)
Sep 2024
Most recent
$17.1M
Federal PA obligated (top: roads and bridges)

The federal disaster record for Houston County runs between 2000 and 2024, covering 20 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Hurricane Sally in 2020. The hazards behind these declarations were most often hurricane, severe storm, and biological. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $17.1 million in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for roads and bridges.

Risk and vulnerability context

Historical declarations show what has happened here. These national datasets add context about underlying natural-hazard risk and community vulnerability.

County FIPS 01069
CDC / ATSDR

Social Vulnerability Index

2022 county-level SVI
71.8
overall percentile nationally

Approximately 71.8% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.

Socioeconomic status77.0
Household characteristics75.0
Racial and ethnic minority status72.5
Housing type and transportation39.4

Higher percentiles indicate greater relative social vulnerability within the CDC SVI framework. CDC SVI documentation

FEMA

National Risk Index

December 2025
87.8
overall risk score
Relatively Moderate
Expected annual loss$55.2MRelatively Moderate
NRI social vulnerability72.2Relatively High
Community resilience76.0Relatively High

The NRI combines expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience to describe relative natural-hazard risk. FEMA NRI documentation

About these measures: CDC Social Vulnerability Index and FEMA National Risk Index Social Vulnerability are separate measures built with different methods. They are shown side by side for context and should not be interpreted as equivalent scores.

Federal Public Assistance by category

Federal share obligated to this jurisdiction under FEMA Public Assistance since 2000, grouped by damage category. Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar and reflect obligations, which may change as projects close out.

CategoryProjectsFederal share obligated
Roads and bridges(C)241$7,289,171
Debris removal(A)27$6,271,993
Emergency protective measures(B)53$1,598,502
Utilities(F)21$1,120,049
Buildings and equipment(E)18$482,516
Parks and recreation(G)11$205,243
Management costs(Z)7$114,378
All categories378$17,081,852

Recovery funding, how fast it came

For each disaster, the wait from the declaration to the first federal obligation (amber), then the federal share obligating after that (teal), on a shared 4-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 89 days. An obligation is the federal share committed to the recipient state, not funds disbursed to the locality, which comes later and is not shown.

Hurricane Helene 2024$20K
172 days to first federal obligation
Hurricane Sally 2020$1.8M
110 days to first federal obligation
Hurricane Michael 2018$8.6M
101 days to first federal obligation
Hurricane Irma 2017$62K
78 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding 2016$1.1M
39 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding 2014$911K
76 days to first federal obligation
Declared1 yr2 yr3 yr4 yr

Assistance to households (Individual Assistance)

FEMA Individual Assistance to households in this jurisdiction, combined across the Housing Assistance owner and renter programs. Valid registrations are households that applied within a designated Individual Assistance area; approved counts and dollars are the households FEMA found eligible under the Individuals and Households Program. Figures are self-reported and drawn from NEMIS through OpenFEMA, not audited, and Individual Assistance exists only for disasters where it was designated, so many jurisdictions show none.

1,289
valid registrations
895
households approved
$5,472,047
total IHP approved
Assistance typeApproved amount
Repair and replacement$921,535
Rental assistance$90,584
Other needs$4,458,100

Hazard mitigation, what has been funded here

Federal Hazard Mitigation Assistance obligated to this jurisdiction to reduce future disaster losses, across the FEMA mitigation programs. This is the record of past mitigation investment a local hazard mitigation plan documents. Figures are federal share obligated, reported through OpenFEMA and not audited, and are separate from the Public Assistance funding above.

$1,669,211
federal mitigation share
16
funded projects
48
properties mitigated
ProgramProjectsFederal share obligated
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP)16$1,669,211

State declarations (governor)

Emergency declarations issued by the governor of this state, which are separate from and usually precede a federal declaration. A declaration is listed here when NOAA Storm Events recorded reports of the matched hazard in this jurisdiction while the order was in effect. That is evidence of local impact during a declared state emergency. It is not a statement that the governor named this jurisdiction in the order, since most state declarations apply statewide and name no localities at all. Hazard categories come from the order text. Damage figures are NOAA storm report estimates for this jurisdiction only, not the cost of the declaration.

10
state declarations with local storm evidence
30
statewide on record

Archive coverage for Alabama: April 2017-present structured Governor archive; 2000-April 2017 gap disclosed

SignedOrderDeclarationHazards reported hereReported damage
Mar 14, 2025AL-SOE-2025-03-14-state-of-emergency-severe-weatherState of Emergency: Severe WeatherHailNot reported
Jun 10, 2023AL-SOE-2023-06-10-state-of-emergency-june-10-2023-severe-weatherState of Emergency: June 10, 2023 Severe WeatherThunderstorm WindNot reported
Mar 24, 2023AL-SOE-2023-03-24-state-of-emergency-march-24-2023-severe-weatherState of Emergency: March 24, 2023 Severe WeatherThunderstorm Wind, Tornado$100,000
Jan 12, 2023AL-SOE-2023-01-12-state-of-emergency-severe-weatherState of Emergency: Severe WeatherThunderstorm Wind$2,000
Aug 28, 2021AL-SOE-2021-08-28-state-of-emergency-hurricane-idaState of Emergency: Hurricane IdaTornado$30,000
Jun 21, 2021AL-SOE-2021-06-21-state-of-emergency-tropical-storm-claudetteState of Emergency: Tropical Storm ClaudetteThunderstorm WindNot reported
Mar 16, 2021AL-SOE-2021-03-16-state-of-emergency-severe-weatherState of Emergency: Severe WeatherTornado$202,000
Sep 14, 2020AL-SOE-2020-09-14-state-of-emergency-tropical-storm-sallyState of Emergency: Tropical Storm SallyFlash FloodNot reported
Apr 12, 2020AL-SOE-2020-04-12-state-of-emergency-severe-weatherState of Emergency: Severe WeatherThunderstorm Wind$3,000
Jun 29, 2018AL-SOE-2018-06-29-state-of-emergency-june-28-severe-weather-power-outagesState of Emergency: June 28 Severe Weather, Power OutagesThunderstorm Wind$3,000

Source: state executive order archives collected by DisasterData Plus, joined to NOAA Storm Events. See the Plus overview for per-state coverage and method.

Most common hazards

Previous occurrences, for your mitigation plan

Every local hazard mitigation plan must document previous occurrences of each hazard. Here is that record for Houston County, sourced to OpenFEMA and refreshed weekly. Copy it straight into your plan.

HazardDateFEMA declarationType
HurricaneSep 26, 2024EM-3618-ALEM
HurricaneSep 20, 2020DR-4563-ALDR
HurricaneSep 14, 2020EM-3545-ALEM
BiologicalMar 29, 2020DR-4503-ALDR
BiologicalMar 13, 2020EM-3472-ALEM
HurricaneNov 5, 2018DR-4406-ALDR
HurricaneOct 12, 2018EM-3407-ALEM
HurricaneOct 8, 2017EM-3394-ALEM
HurricaneSep 11, 2017EM-3389-ALEM
Severe StormJan 21, 2016DR-4251-ALDR
Severe StormMay 2, 2014DR-4176-ALDR
Severe StormApr 28, 2011DR-1971-ALDR
Severe StormApr 27, 2011EM-3319-ALEM
Severe StormApr 28, 2009DR-1835-ALDR
HurricaneAug 30, 2008EM-3292-ALEM
HurricaneSep 10, 2005EM-3237-ALEM
HurricaneJul 10, 2005DR-1593-ALDR
HurricaneSep 15, 2004DR-1549-ALDR
Severe StormNov 14, 2002DR-1442-ALDR
Severe StormDec 18, 2000DR-1352-ALDR

Every declaration on record

DR = Major disaster (Stafford Act) · EM = Emergency declaration · FM = Fire management assistance

Showing 20 declarations

DateNumberTypeHazardTitle
Sep 26, 2024EM-3618-ALEMHurricaneHurricane Helene
Sep 20, 2020DR-4563-ALDRHurricaneHurricane Sally
Sep 14, 2020EM-3545-ALEMHurricaneHurricane Sally
Mar 29, 2020DR-4503-ALDRBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
Mar 13, 2020EM-3472-ALEMBiologicalCovid-19
Nov 5, 2018DR-4406-ALDRHurricaneHurricane Michael
Oct 12, 2018EM-3407-ALEMHurricaneHurricane Michael
Oct 8, 2017EM-3394-ALEMHurricaneHurricane Nate
Sep 11, 2017EM-3389-ALEMHurricaneHurricane Irma
Jan 21, 2016DR-4251-ALDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding
May 2, 2014DR-4176-ALDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding
Apr 28, 2011DR-1971-ALDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding
Apr 27, 2011EM-3319-ALEMSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-Line Winds
Apr 28, 2009DR-1835-ALDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes & Straight-Line
Aug 30, 2008EM-3292-ALEMHurricaneHurricane Gustav
Sep 10, 2005EM-3237-ALEMHurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
Jul 10, 2005DR-1593-ALDRHurricaneHurricane Dennis
Sep 15, 2004DR-1549-ALDRHurricaneHurricane Ivan
Nov 14, 2002DR-1442-ALDRSevere StormSevere Storms And Tornadoes
Dec 18, 2000DR-1352-ALDRSevere StormSevere Storms And Tornadoes
← Alabama statewide overview · All Alabama jurisdictions

How these numbers are built

Drawn from FEMA's OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, rebuilt each week. A declaration is counted here once for each designated area it names, so a single disaster covering many localities is counted in each one. For that reason these jurisdiction counts do not sum to Alabama's statewide total. This page counts declarations that named this jurisdiction as a designated area. Totals cover complete fiscal years (Oct 1 to Sep 30); the in-progress year may appear in the most-recent list but is not counted in the totals. Uses OpenFEMA data but is not endorsed by or affiliated with FEMA.

Cite this profile

Choose a citation style, then copy the formatted citation. This profile is derived from FEMA OpenFEMA data and is updated as the underlying Disaster Data build is refreshed.

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