Disaster Data / States / Arkansas / Polk County

County

Polk County, Arkansas

Polk County recorded 16 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 10 major disasters, 6 emergencies, and 0 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is severe storm.

Highlighted: Polk County, AR

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

16
Declarations since FY2000
10
Major disasters (DR)
6
Emergencies (EM)
0
Fire management (FM)
Jan 2026
Most recent
$8.8M
Federal PA obligated (top: emergency protective measures)

The federal disaster record for Polk County runs between 2000 and 2025, covering 16 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020. The hazards behind these declarations were most often severe storm, severe ice storm, and biological. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $8.8 million in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for emergency protective measures.

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 05113
CDC / ATSDR

Social Vulnerability Index

2022 county-level SVI
68.6
overall percentile nationally

Approximately 68.6% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.

Socioeconomic status75.1
Household characteristics84.5
Racial and ethnic minority status37.7
Housing type and transportation41.7

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

FEMA

National Risk Index

December 2025
46.1
overall risk score
Relatively Low
Expected annual loss$9.8MVery Low
NRI social vulnerability84.0Very High
Community resilience11.6Very 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
Emergency protective measures(B)55$2,536,901
Debris removal(A)31$2,487,626
Roads and bridges(C)84$1,988,297
Utilities(F)18$1,427,119
Buildings and equipment(E)59$245,199
Parks and recreation(G)15$95,179
All categories262$8,780,321

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 74 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$35K
605 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding 2016$309K
63 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding 2015$327K
60 days to first federal obligation
Severe Winter Storm 2014$333K
86 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding 2013$880K
56 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding 2011$217K
99 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.

811
valid registrations
254
households approved
$1,488,707
total IHP approved
Assistance typeApproved amount
Repair and replacement$906,950
Rental assistance$146,897
Other needs$433,551

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.

$2,264,711
federal mitigation share
7
funded projects
4
properties mitigated
ProgramProjectsFederal share obligated
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP)6$1,611,684
Pre-Disaster Mitigation(PDM)1$653,027

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

HazardDateFEMA declarationType
Severe StormApr 5, 2025EM-3627-AREM
HurricaneAug 27, 2020EM-3541-AREM
BiologicalApr 3, 2020DR-4518-ARDR
BiologicalMar 13, 2020EM-3461-AREM
Severe StormFeb 5, 2016DR-4254-ARDR
Severe StormJun 26, 2015DR-4226-ARDR
Severe Ice StormJan 6, 2014DR-4160-ARDR
Severe StormJun 25, 2013DR-4124-ARDR
Severe StormMay 2, 2011DR-1975-ARDR
Severe StormJun 16, 2009DR-1845-ARDR
TornadoApr 27, 2009DR-1834-ARDR
Severe Ice StormJan 28, 2009EM-3301-AREM
HurricaneSep 2, 2005EM-3215-AREM
Severe StormMar 13, 2001DR-1363-ARDR
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 16 declarations

DateNumberTypeHazardTitle
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
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
Jan 6, 2014DR-4160-ARDRSevere Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
Jun 25, 2013DR-4124-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
May 2, 2011DR-1975-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding
Jun 16, 2009DR-1845-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
Apr 27, 2009DR-1834-ARDRTornadoSevere Storms And Tornadoes
Jan 28, 2009EM-3301-AREMSevere Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
Sep 2, 2005EM-3215-AREMHurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
Mar 13, 2001DR-1363-ARDRSevere StormSevere Storms And Flooding
Dec 29, 2000DR-1354-ARDRSevere Ice StormSevere Winter Ice Storm
Dec 28, 2000EM-3159-AREMSevere Ice StormSevere Winter Ice Storm
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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