Disaster Data / States / North Carolina / Cleveland County

County

Cleveland County, North Carolina

Cleveland County recorded 12 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 5 major disasters, 7 emergencies, and 0 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is hurricane.

Highlighted: Cleveland County, NC

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

12
Declarations since FY2000
5
Major disasters (DR)
7
Emergencies (EM)
0
Fire management (FM)
Jan 2026
Most recent
$56.7M
Federal PA obligated (top: debris removal)

The federal disaster record for Cleveland County runs between 2002 and 2024, covering 12 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Helene in 2024. The hazards behind these declarations were most often hurricane, biological, and tropical storm. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $56.7 million in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for debris removal.

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 37045
CDC / ATSDR

Social Vulnerability Index

2022 county-level SVI
85.2
overall percentile nationally

Approximately 85.2% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.

Socioeconomic status87.0
Household characteristics70.4
Racial and ethnic minority status64.8
Housing type and transportation80.8

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

FEMA

National Risk Index

December 2025
70.0
overall risk score
Relatively Low
Expected annual loss$27.3MRelatively Low
NRI social vulnerability44.1Relatively Moderate
Community resilience33.3Relatively 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
Debris removal(A)25$50,006,254
Utilities(F)12$3,427,675
Emergency protective measures(B)22$1,628,931
Management costs(Z)15$587,207
Roads and bridges(C)7$526,416
Parks and recreation(G)5$359,337
Buildings and equipment(E)10$142,523
Water control facilities(D)1$69,286
All categories97$56,747,629

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 2-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 85 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.

Tropical Storm Helene 2024$55.7M
115 days to first federal obligation
Severe Ice Storm 2002$1.0M
55 days to first federal obligation
Declared1 yr2 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.

15,525
valid registrations
8,251
households approved
$14,615,157
total IHP approved
Assistance typeApproved amount
Repair and replacement$2,538,416
Rental assistance$447,604
Other needs$11,624,990

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.

$23,956
federal mitigation share
1
funded project
ProgramProjectsFederal share obligated
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP)1$23,956

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

HazardDateFEMA declarationType
Tropical StormSep 28, 2024DR-4827-NCDR
Tropical StormSep 26, 2024EM-3617-NCEM
HurricaneOct 1, 2022EM-3586-NCEM
HurricaneAug 2, 2020EM-3534-NCEM
Severe StormMay 8, 2020DR-4543-NCDR
BiologicalMar 25, 2020DR-4487-NCDR
BiologicalMar 13, 2020EM-3471-NCEM
HurricaneSep 3, 2019EM-3423-NCEM
HurricaneSep 10, 2018EM-3401-NCEM
HurricaneSep 5, 2005EM-3222-NCEM
HurricaneSep 10, 2004DR-1546-NCDR
Severe Ice StormDec 12, 2002DR-1448-NCDR

Every declaration on record

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

Showing 12 declarations

DateNumberTypeHazardTitle
Sep 28, 2024DR-4827-NCDRTropical StormTropical Storm Helene
Sep 26, 2024EM-3617-NCEMTropical StormHurricane Helene
Oct 1, 2022EM-3586-NCEMHurricaneHurricane Ian
Aug 2, 2020EM-3534-NCEMHurricaneHurricane Isaias
May 8, 2020DR-4543-NCDRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
Mar 25, 2020DR-4487-NCDRBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
Mar 13, 2020EM-3471-NCEMBiologicalCovid-19
Sep 3, 2019EM-3423-NCEMHurricaneHurricane Dorian
Sep 10, 2018EM-3401-NCEMHurricaneHurricane Florence
Sep 5, 2005EM-3222-NCEMHurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
Sep 10, 2004DR-1546-NCDRHurricaneTropical Storm Frances
Dec 12, 2002DR-1448-NCDRSevere Ice StormSevere Ice Storm
← North Carolina statewide overview · All North Carolina 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 North Carolina'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 North Carolina jurisdictions