Disaster Data / States / Arkansas / Independence County

County

Independence County, Arkansas

Independence County recorded 21 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 16 major disasters, 5 emergencies, and 0 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is severe storm.

Highlighted: Independence County, AR

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

21
Declarations since FY2000
16
Major disasters (DR)
5
Emergencies (EM)
0
Fire management (FM)
Jan 2026
Most recent
$5.7M
Federal PA obligated (top: roads and bridges)

The federal disaster record for Independence County runs between 2000 and 2025, covering 21 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Severe Storms And Tornadoes in 2025. The hazards behind these declarations were most often severe storm, severe ice storm, and biological. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $5.7 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 05063
CDC / ATSDR

Social Vulnerability Index

2022 county-level SVI
82.4
overall percentile nationally

Approximately 82.4% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.

Socioeconomic status76.5
Household characteristics78.4
Racial and ethnic minority status43.1
Housing type and transportation89.1

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

FEMA

National Risk Index

December 2025
69.1
overall risk score
Relatively Low
Expected annual loss$24.3MRelatively Low
NRI social vulnerability56.5Relatively Moderate
Community resilience26.7Relatively Low

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)145$2,252,545
Emergency protective measures(B)37$2,215,000
Debris removal(A)18$417,468
Parks and recreation(G)18$311,355
Utilities(F)13$216,419
Buildings and equipment(E)8$126,704
Management costs(Z)2$99,207
Water control facilities(D)2$37,536
All categories243$5,676,234

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 7-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 88 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.

Covid-19 Pandemic 2020$2.1M
642 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding 2017$246K
113 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding 2016$244K
74 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding 2015$86K
101 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms,Tornadoes, And Flooding 2014$785K
76 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding 2013$221K
57 days to first federal obligation
Declared1 yr2 yr3 yr4 yr5 yr6 yr7 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.

332
valid registrations
241
households approved
$1,561,944
total IHP approved
Assistance typeApproved amount
Repair and replacement$539,844
Rental assistance$67,646
Other needs$954,047

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.

$2,035,138
federal mitigation share
4
funded projects
2
properties mitigated
ProgramProjectsFederal share obligated
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP)3$1,460,138
Pre-Disaster Mitigation(PDM)1$575,000

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.

2
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 Independence County, sourced to OpenFEMA and refreshed weekly. Copy it straight into your plan.

HazardDateFEMA declarationType
Severe StormMay 8, 2025DR-4865-ARDR
Severe StormApr 5, 2025EM-3627-AREM
HurricaneAug 27, 2020EM-3541-AREM
BiologicalApr 3, 2020DR-4518-ARDR
BiologicalMar 13, 2020EM-3461-AREM
Severe StormJun 15, 2017DR-4318-ARDR
Severe StormFeb 5, 2016DR-4254-ARDR
Severe StormJun 26, 2015DR-4226-ARDR
Severe StormApr 29, 2014DR-4174-ARDR
Severe StormJun 25, 2013DR-4124-ARDR
Severe StormMay 2, 2011DR-1975-ARDR
Severe StormFeb 6, 2009DR-1819-ARDR
Severe Ice StormJan 28, 2009EM-3301-AREM
Severe StormMar 26, 2008DR-1751-ARDR
Severe StormFeb 7, 2008DR-1744-ARDR
HurricaneSep 2, 2005EM-3215-AREM
Severe StormMay 7, 2004DR-1516-ARDR
Severe StormJun 6, 2003DR-1472-ARDR
Severe Ice StormJan 6, 2003DR-1450-ARDR
Severe StormJan 24, 2002DR-1400-ARDR
Severe Ice StormDec 29, 2000DR-1354-ARDR

Every declaration on record

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

Showing 21 declarations

DateNumberTypeHazardTitle
May 8, 2025DR-4865-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms And Tornadoes
Apr 5, 2025EM-3627-AREMSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
Aug 27, 2020EM-3541-AREMHurricaneHurricane Laura
Apr 3, 2020DR-4518-ARDRBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
Mar 13, 2020EM-3461-AREMBiologicalCovid-19
Jun 15, 2017DR-4318-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding
Feb 5, 2016DR-4254-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding
Jun 26, 2015DR-4226-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding
Apr 29, 2014DR-4174-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms,Tornadoes, And Flooding
Jun 25, 2013DR-4124-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
May 2, 2011DR-1975-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding
Feb 6, 2009DR-1819-ARDRSevere StormSevere Winter Storm
Jan 28, 2009EM-3301-AREMSevere Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
Mar 26, 2008DR-1751-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
Feb 7, 2008DR-1744-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
Sep 2, 2005EM-3215-AREMHurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
May 7, 2004DR-1516-ARDRSevere StormSever Storms, Flooding And Landslides
Jun 6, 2003DR-1472-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
Jan 6, 2003DR-1450-ARDRSevere Ice StormSevere Ice Storm
Jan 24, 2002DR-1400-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms And Flooding
Dec 29, 2000DR-1354-ARDRSevere 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.

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