Disaster Data / States / Illinois
Illinois: Federal Disaster Declarations
Illinois has recorded 24 major disaster declarations since FY2000 (through FY2026), the federal government's fullest response to an event. Alongside those sit 7 emergency declarations and 0 fire management declarations, 31 in all. Its most common hazard is severe storm. It ranks #32 nationally by major disasters.
Totals: FY2000 to FY2026 · Page last rebuilt Oct 25, 2026 · the current in-progress fiscal year is not included in totals
Federal Public Assistance obligated
$2.5B has been obligated to Illinois in Public Assistance since FY2000.
$346M followed major disasters other than COVID-19. $29M followed emergency declarations, which cover debris removal and emergency protective work only. $2.2B, or 85% of the total, was COVID-19, which every state and county in the country received.
Obligated is the committed share, not necessarily spent, and can be revised as projects close out. Totals are summed from funded localities, so a declaration administered entirely at state level may not appear here.
Most common hazards
- Severe Storm 13
- Flood 6
- Snowstorm 5
- Tornado 3
- Biological 2
- Severe Ice Storm 1
- Hurricane 1
All declarations on record
Major disaster (DR). The big one. Opens the full toolbox: repair money for public infrastructure, help for households, and mitigation funding to reduce the next loss.
Emergency (EM). Narrower and usually faster, for protective work before or during an incident. Capped, and rarely brings household assistance. Nearly every state and county has one from COVID-19.
Fire management (FM). Cost sharing to fight a wildfire as it burns. Not a disaster declaration, and it does not open recovery programs.
DR = Major disaster (Stafford Act) · EM = Emergency declaration · FM = Fire management assistance
Showing 31 declarations
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20, 2024 | DR-4819-IL | DR | Flood | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Floodng |
| Nov 20, 2023 | DR-4749-IL | DR | Flood | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Aug 15, 2023 | DR-4728-IL | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Oct 14, 2022 | DR-4676-IL | DR | Flood | Severe Storm And Flooding |
| Dec 13, 2021 | EM-3577-IL | EM | Tornado | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes |
| Mar 26, 2020 | DR-4489-IL | DR | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3435-IL | EM | Biological | Covid-19 |
| Sep 19, 2019 | DR-4461-IL | DR | Flood | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Nov 26, 2013 | DR-4157-IL | DR | Tornado | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes |
| May 10, 2013 | DR-4116-IL | DR | Flood | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding |
| Jun 7, 2011 | DR-1991-IL | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Mar 17, 2011 | DR-1960-IL | DR | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm |
| Aug 19, 2010 | DR-1935-IL | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Jul 2, 2009 | DR-1850-IL | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes |
| Mar 2, 2009 | DR-1826-IL | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| Oct 3, 2008 | DR-1800-IL | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Jun 24, 2008 | DR-1771-IL | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Mar 13, 2008 | EM-3283-IL | EM | Snowstorm | Record Snow And Near Record Snow |
| Mar 7, 2008 | DR-1747-IL | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Sep 25, 2007 | DR-1729-IL | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Aug 30, 2007 | DR-1722-IL | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Feb 9, 2007 | DR-1681-IL | DR | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| Dec 29, 2006 | EM-3269-IL | EM | Snowstorm | Snow |
| Mar 28, 2006 | DR-1633-IL | DR | Severe Storm | Tornadoes And Severe Storms |
| Sep 7, 2005 | EM-3230-IL | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| Feb 1, 2005 | EM-3199-IL | EM | Snowstorm | Record/Near Record Snow |
| Apr 23, 2004 | DR-1513-IL | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Tornadoes |
| May 15, 2003 | DR-1469-IL | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding |
| May 21, 2002 | DR-1416-IL | DR | Tornado | Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding |
| May 9, 2001 | DR-1368-IL | DR | Flood | Flooding |
| Jan 17, 2001 | EM-3161-IL | EM | Snowstorm | Illinois Winter Snow Storms |
Individual Assistance to households
FEMA Individual Assistance to households across Illinois, combined across the Housing Assistance owner and renter programs. Valid registrations are households that applied within a designated Individual Assistance area; approved figures are those FEMA found eligible under the Individuals and Households Program. Self-reported, drawn from NEMIS through OpenFEMA, and present only where Individual Assistance was designated.
| Assistance type | Approved amount |
|---|---|
| Repair and replacement | $734M |
| Rental assistance | $319M |
| Other needs | $361M |
Hazard mitigation funded
Federal Hazard Mitigation Assistance obligated across Illinois to reduce future disaster losses, by program. Figures are federal share obligated, reported through OpenFEMA and not audited.
| Program | Projects | Federal share obligated |
|---|---|---|
| Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) | 372 | $211M |
| Legislative Pre-Disaster Mitigation (LPDM) | 18 | $28M |
| Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) | 51 | $14M |
| Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) | 19 | $11M |
| Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) | 30 | $9M |
| Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) | 1 | $58K |
Denied requests
FEMA turned down 17 declaration requests from Illinois since FY2000, a declaration-request denial rate of 35.4%. This is the President denying a governor or tribal leader's request for a declaration, tracked in a separate FEMA dataset from approved declarations, and is not the same thing as an individual being denied assistance under an approved declaration.
| Date | Type | Hazard |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 15, 2026 | Major Disaster | Severe Storm |
| Sep 15, 2025 | Major Disaster | Severe Storm |
| Aug 21, 2025 | Major Disaster | Severe Storm |
| Apr 5, 2023 | Emergency | Severe Storm |
| Apr 11, 2018 | Major Disaster | Flood |
| Aug 31, 2017 | Major Disaster | Flood |
| Feb 26, 2016 | Major Disaster | Flood |
| Mar 7, 2012 | Major Disaster | Tornado |
| Aug 26, 2011 | Major Disaster | Severe Storm |
| Jun 18, 2010 | Major Disaster | Tornado |
How these numbers are built
Every figure is drawn from FEMA's OpenFEMA datasets: the Disaster Declarations Summaries for declarations and the Declaration Denials dataset for turndowns, rebuilt automatically each week. A "declaration" is one unique combination of declaration type (DR / EM / FM), disaster number, and state, so a single disaster affecting five states counts as five declarations. Years are federal fiscal years (Oct 1 to Sep 30). Totals, ranks, and rates on this page cover complete fiscal years only. Declarations from the fiscal year still in progress are listed in each state's declaration tables and its recent-declarations panel, but are not counted in any total until the year is complete. Uses OpenFEMA data but is not endorsed by or affiliated with FEMA.