Disaster Data / States / Massachusetts / Worcester County
CountyWorcester County recorded 25 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 12 major disasters, 13 emergencies, and 0 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is severe storm.
Highlighted: Worcester County, MA
Totals: FY2000–FY2025 · Page last rebuilt Sep 12, 2026 · the current in-progress fiscal year is not included in totals
The federal disaster record for Worcester County runs between 1999 and 2024, covering 25 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Severe Storms And Flooding in 2024. The hazards behind these declarations were most often severe storm, snowstorm, and hurricane. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $123.9 million in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for emergency protective measures.
Historical declarations show what has happened here. These national datasets add context about underlying natural-hazard risk and community vulnerability.
Approximately 51.0% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.
Higher percentiles indicate greater relative social vulnerability within the CDC SVI framework. CDC SVI documentation
The NRI combines expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience to describe relative natural-hazard risk. FEMA NRI documentation
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.
| Category | Projects | Federal share obligated |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency protective measures(B) | 1,306 | $97,827,470 |
| Debris removal(A) | 241 | $16,811,220 |
| Utilities(F) | 56 | $7,110,479 |
| Roads and bridges(C) | 155 | $1,278,387 |
| Management costs(Z) | 30 | $418,970 |
| Buildings and equipment(E) | 76 | $297,624 |
| Parks and recreation(G) | 24 | $127,380 |
| Water control facilities(D) | 1 | $1,255 |
| All categories | 1,889 | $123,872,785 |
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 11-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 81 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.
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.
| Program | Projects | Federal share obligated |
|---|---|---|
| Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP) | 31 | $18,339,792 |
| Pre-Disaster Mitigation(PDM) | 11 | $1,563,166 |
| Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities(BRIC) | 4 | $936,448 |
| Legislative Pre-Disaster Mitigation(LPDM) | 1 | $444,870 |
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.
Archive coverage for Massachusetts: 1941-present official State Library executive-order collection; unnumbered proclamation backfill pending
| Signed | Order | Declaration | Hazards reported here | Reported damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12, 2023 | MA-PROC-2023-09-12-5a06b71f | Governor Healey Declares State of Emergency Over Catastrophic Flood Damage | Flash Flood, Flood | Not reported |
Source: state executive order archives collected by DisasterData Plus, joined to NOAA Storm Events. See the Plus overview for per-state coverage and method.
Every local hazard mitigation plan must document previous occurrences of each hazard. Here is that record for Worcester County, sourced to OpenFEMA and refreshed weekly. Copy it straight into your plan.
| Hazard | Date | FEMA declaration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 15, 2024 | DR-4780-MA | DR |
| Hurricane | Sep 15, 2023 | EM-3599-MA | EM |
| Biological | Mar 27, 2020 | DR-4496-MA | DR |
| Biological | Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3438-MA | EM |
| Snowstorm | Jul 19, 2018 | DR-4379-MA | DR |
| Severe Storm | Apr 13, 2015 | DR-4214-MA | DR |
| Severe Storm | Apr 19, 2013 | DR-4110-MA | DR |
| Hurricane | Oct 28, 2012 | EM-3350-MA | EM |
| Severe Storm | Jan 6, 2012 | DR-4051-MA | DR |
| Severe Storm | Nov 1, 2011 | EM-3343-MA | EM |
| Hurricane | Aug 26, 2011 | EM-3330-MA | EM |
| Tornado | Jun 15, 2011 | DR-1994-MA | DR |
| Hurricane | Sep 2, 2010 | EM-3315-MA | EM |
| Severe Storm | Mar 29, 2010 | DR-1895-MA | DR |
| Severe Ice Storm | Jan 5, 2009 | DR-1813-MA | DR |
| Severe Storm | Dec 13, 2008 | EM-3296-MA | EM |
| Severe Storm | Nov 10, 2005 | DR-1614-MA | DR |
| Hurricane | Sep 13, 2005 | EM-3252-MA | EM |
| Snowstorm | Feb 17, 2005 | EM-3201-MA | EM |
| Flood | Apr 21, 2004 | DR-1512-MA | DR |
| Snowstorm | Jan 15, 2004 | EM-3191-MA | EM |
| Snowstorm | Mar 11, 2003 | EM-3175-MA | EM |
| Severe Storm | Apr 10, 2001 | DR-1364-MA | DR |
| Snowstorm | Mar 28, 2001 | EM-3165-MA | EM |
| Fire | Dec 6, 1999 | EM-3153-MA | EM |
DR = Major disaster (Stafford Act) · EM = Emergency declaration · FM = Fire management assistance
Showing 25 declarations
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 2024 | DR-4780-MA | DR | Flood | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Sep 15, 2023 | EM-3599-MA | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Lee |
| Mar 27, 2020 | DR-4496-MA | DR | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3438-MA | EM | Biological | Covid-19 |
| Jul 19, 2018 | DR-4379-MA | DR | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm |
| Apr 13, 2015 | DR-4214-MA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding |
| Apr 19, 2013 | DR-4110-MA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding |
| Oct 28, 2012 | EM-3350-MA | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| Jan 6, 2012 | DR-4051-MA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storm And Snowstorm |
| Nov 1, 2011 | EM-3343-MA | EM | Severe Storm | Severe Storm |
| Aug 26, 2011 | EM-3330-MA | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| Jun 15, 2011 | DR-1994-MA | DR | Tornado | Severe Storms And Tornadoes |
| Sep 2, 2010 | EM-3315-MA | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Earl |
| Mar 29, 2010 | DR-1895-MA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Jan 5, 2009 | DR-1813-MA | DR | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storm And Flooding |
| Dec 13, 2008 | EM-3296-MA | EM | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| Nov 10, 2005 | DR-1614-MA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Sep 13, 2005 | EM-3252-MA | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| Feb 17, 2005 | EM-3201-MA | EM | Snowstorm | Record And/Or Near Record Snow |
| Apr 21, 2004 | DR-1512-MA | DR | Flood | Flooding |
| Jan 15, 2004 | EM-3191-MA | EM | Snowstorm | Snow |
| Mar 11, 2003 | EM-3175-MA | EM | Snowstorm | Snow |
| Apr 10, 2001 | DR-1364-MA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Mar 28, 2001 | EM-3165-MA | EM | Snowstorm | Snow |
| Dec 6, 1999 | EM-3153-MA | EM | Fire | Warehouse Fire. |
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 Massachusetts'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.
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.