Disaster Data / States / Arkansas / Desha County

County

Desha County, Arkansas

Desha County recorded 15 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 9 major disasters, 6 emergencies, and 0 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is severe storm.

Highlighted: Desha County, AR

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

15
Declarations since FY2000
9
Major disasters (DR)
6
Emergencies (EM)
0
Fire management (FM)
Jan 2026
Most recent
$1.3M
Federal PA obligated (top: roads and bridges)

The federal disaster record for Desha County runs between 2000 and 2025, covering 15 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding in 2025. The hazards behind these declarations were most often severe storm, flood, and severe ice storm. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $1.3 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 05041
CDC / ATSDR

Social Vulnerability Index

2022 county-level SVI
97.5
overall percentile nationally

Approximately 97.5% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.

Socioeconomic status91.7
Household characteristics99.9
Racial and ethnic minority status90.1
Housing type and transportation73.7

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

FEMA

National Risk Index

December 2025
32.9
overall risk score
Very Low
Expected annual loss$6.5MVery Low
NRI social vulnerability98.0Very High
Community resilience53.2Relatively Moderate

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)5$773,972
Debris removal(A)8$359,766
Emergency protective measures(B)7$89,240
Management costs(Z)5$74,630
Parks and recreation(G)1$17,049
Buildings and equipment(E)2$14,454
Utilities(F)1$4,055
All categories29$1,333,166

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 3-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 126 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.

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding 2025$234K
168 days to first federal obligation
Severe Winter Storm 2023$111K
120 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms And Flooding 2019$742K
161 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding 2016$114K
105 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding 2008$29K
133 days to first federal obligation
Severe Winter Ice Storm 2000$103K
45 days to first federal obligation
Declared1 yr2 yr3 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.

308
valid registrations
220
households approved
$2,036,044
total IHP approved
Assistance typeApproved amount
Repair and replacement$1,272,120
Rental assistance$122,122
Other needs$641,802

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.

$1,048,574
federal mitigation share
4
funded projects
10
properties mitigated
ProgramProjectsFederal share obligated
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP)4$1,048,574

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.

1
state declarations with local storm evidence
9
statewide on record

Archive coverage for Arkansas: 2023-present structured current-Governor archive; 2000-2022 gap disclosed

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 Desha County, sourced to OpenFEMA and refreshed weekly. Copy it straight into your plan.

HazardDateFEMA declarationType
FloodMay 21, 2025DR-4873-ARDR
Severe StormApr 5, 2025EM-3627-AREM
Winter StormApr 4, 2023DR-4700-ARDR
HurricaneAug 27, 2020EM-3541-AREM
TornadoJul 10, 2020DR-4556-ARDR
BiologicalApr 3, 2020DR-4518-ARDR
BiologicalMar 13, 2020EM-3461-AREM
FloodJun 8, 2019DR-4441-ARDR
FloodMay 30, 2019EM-3414-AREM
Severe StormMay 6, 2016DR-4270-ARDR
Severe StormMay 2, 2011DR-1975-ARDR
Severe StormMar 26, 2008DR-1751-ARDR
HurricaneSep 2, 2005EM-3215-AREM
Severe Ice StormDec 29, 2000DR-1354-ARDR
Severe Ice StormDec 28, 2000EM-3159-AREM

Every declaration on record

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

Showing 15 declarations

DateNumberTypeHazardTitle
May 21, 2025DR-4873-ARDRFloodSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
Apr 5, 2025EM-3627-AREMSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
Apr 4, 2023DR-4700-ARDRWinter StormSevere Winter Storm
Aug 27, 2020EM-3541-AREMHurricaneHurricane Laura
Jul 10, 2020DR-4556-ARDRTornadoSevere Storms And Straight-Line Winds
Apr 3, 2020DR-4518-ARDRBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
Mar 13, 2020EM-3461-AREMBiologicalCovid-19
Jun 8, 2019DR-4441-ARDRFloodSevere Storms And Flooding
May 30, 2019EM-3414-AREMFloodSevere Storms And Flooding
May 6, 2016DR-4270-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding
May 2, 2011DR-1975-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding
Mar 26, 2008DR-1751-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
Sep 2, 2005EM-3215-AREMHurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
Dec 29, 2000DR-1354-ARDRSevere Ice StormSevere Winter Ice Storm
Dec 28, 2000EM-3159-AREMSevere Ice StormSevere Winter Ice Storm
← Arkansas statewide overview · All Arkansas 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 Arkansas'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.

Other Arkansas jurisdictions