Disaster Data / States / Kentucky / Laurel County

County

Laurel County, Kentucky

Laurel County recorded 18 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 12 major disasters, 4 emergencies, and 2 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is severe storm.

Highlighted: Laurel County, KY

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

18
Declarations since FY2000
12
Major disasters (DR)
4
Emergencies (EM)
2
Fire management (FM)
May 2026
Most recent
$11.1M
Federal PA obligated (top: buildings and equipment)

The federal disaster record for Laurel County runs between 2000 and 2025, covering 18 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes in 2025. The hazards behind these declarations were most often severe storm, biological, and fire. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $11.1 million in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for buildings and equipment.

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 21125
CDC / ATSDR

Social Vulnerability Index

2022 county-level SVI
52.8
overall percentile nationally

Approximately 52.8% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.

Socioeconomic status58.3
Household characteristics47.1
Racial and ethnic minority status4.1
Housing type and transportation69.4

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

FEMA

National Risk Index

December 2025
71.7
overall risk score
Relatively Low
Expected annual loss$23.9MRelatively Low
NRI social vulnerability68.2Relatively High
Community resilience29.0Relatively 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
Buildings and equipment(E)11$6,541,036
Roads and bridges(C)41$3,230,817
Emergency protective measures(B)8$567,276
Debris removal(A)5$369,793
Parks and recreation(G)8$276,432
Management costs(Z)1$81,294
Utilities(F)1$5,866
All categories75$11,072,514

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 9-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 57 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, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes 2025$9.0M
256 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides 2025$1.3M
435 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds And Flooding 2012$574K
57 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, And Mudslides 2004$67K
49 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding 2002$81K
43 days to first federal obligation
Declared1 yr2 yr3 yr4 yr5 yr6 yr7 yr8 yr9 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.

1,297
valid registrations
648
households approved
$5,172,787
total IHP approved
Assistance typeApproved amount
Repair and replacement$2,221,682
Rental assistance$288,362
Other needs$2,659,167

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.

$644,698
federal mitigation share
3
funded projects
ProgramProjectsFederal share obligated
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP)3$644,698

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

HazardDateFEMA declarationType
Severe StormMay 23, 2025DR-4875-KYDR
Severe StormApr 3, 2025EM-3626-KYEM
Severe StormFeb 24, 2025DR-4860-KYDR
Severe StormFeb 16, 2025EM-3624-KYEM
Severe StormJul 23, 2024DR-4804-KYDR
Severe StormApr 10, 2023DR-4702-KYDR
FloodApr 23, 2021DR-4595-KYDR
Severe Ice StormMar 31, 2021DR-4592-KYDR
BiologicalMar 28, 2020DR-4497-KYDR
BiologicalMar 13, 2020EM-3469-KYEM
Severe StormApr 17, 2019DR-4428-KYDR
Severe StormMar 6, 2012DR-4057-KYDR
HurricaneSep 10, 2005EM-3231-KYEM
Severe StormJun 10, 2004DR-1523-KYDR
Severe StormMay 7, 2002DR-1414-KYDR
Severe StormApr 4, 2002DR-1407-KYDR
FireNov 2, 2001FM-2385-KYFM
FireNov 4, 2000FM-2349-KYFM

Every declaration on record

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

Showing 18 declarations

DateNumberTypeHazardTitle
May 23, 2025DR-4875-KYDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes
Apr 3, 2025EM-3626-KYEMSevere StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding
Feb 24, 2025DR-4860-KYDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides
Feb 16, 2025EM-3624-KYEMSevere StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides
Jul 23, 2024DR-4804-KYDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, And Mudslides
Apr 10, 2023DR-4702-KYDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides
Apr 23, 2021DR-4595-KYDRFloodSevere, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides
Mar 31, 2021DR-4592-KYDRSevere Ice StormSevere Winter Storms, Landslides, And Mudslides
Mar 28, 2020DR-4497-KYDRBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
Mar 13, 2020EM-3469-KYEMBiologicalCovid-19
Apr 17, 2019DR-4428-KYDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides
Mar 6, 2012DR-4057-KYDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds And Flooding
Sep 10, 2005EM-3231-KYEMHurricaneHurricane Katrina
Jun 10, 2004DR-1523-KYDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, And Mudslides
May 7, 2002DR-1414-KYDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding
Apr 4, 2002DR-1407-KYDRSevere StormSevere Storms And Flooding
Nov 2, 2001FM-2385-KYFMFireKy - Southeastern Fire Complex - 11/02/01
Nov 4, 2000FM-2349-KYFMFireKy - Southeastern District Fire Complex - 11/03/00
← Kentucky statewide overview · All Kentucky 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 Kentucky'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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