Disaster Data / States / North Carolina / Union County

County

Union County, North Carolina

Union County recorded 14 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 6 major disasters, 8 emergencies, and 0 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is hurricane.

Highlighted: Union County, NC

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

14
Declarations since FY2000
6
Major disasters (DR)
8
Emergencies (EM)
0
Fire management (FM)
Jan 2026
Most recent
$6.1M
Federal PA obligated (top: debris removal)

The federal disaster record for Union County runs between 2000 and 2024, covering 14 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Helene in 2024. The hazards behind these declarations were most often hurricane, tropical storm, and biological. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $6.1 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 37179
CDC / ATSDR

Social Vulnerability Index

2022 county-level SVI
20.1
overall percentile nationally

Approximately 20.1% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.

Socioeconomic status22.2
Household characteristics37.9
Racial and ethnic minority status67.0
Housing type and transportation9.3

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

FEMA

National Risk Index

December 2025
89.1
overall risk score
Relatively Moderate
Expected annual loss$110.3MRelatively Moderate
NRI social vulnerability10.6Very Low
Community resilience55.2Relatively Moderate

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)16$2,737,379
Utilities(F)9$2,394,350
Emergency protective measures(B)23$320,254
Water control facilities(D)1$306,135
Parks and recreation(G)7$210,738
Buildings and equipment(E)7$83,246
Management costs(Z)5$50,883
Roads and bridges(C)1$21,826
All categories69$6,124,811

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 117 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$58K
146 days to first federal obligation
Covid-19 Pandemic 2020$13K
379 days to first federal obligation
Hurricane Florence 2018$1.3M
117 days to first federal obligation
Severe Ice Storm 2002$8K
76 days to first federal obligation
Severe Winter Storm 2000$4.8M
60 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.

1,255
valid registrations
536
households approved
$3,010,763
total IHP approved
Assistance typeApproved amount
Repair and replacement$190,256
Rental assistance$232,904
Other needs$2,587,603

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.

$483,750
federal mitigation share
2
funded projects
ProgramProjectsFederal share obligated
Pre-Disaster Mitigation(PDM)1$472,500
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP)1$11,250

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 Union 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
Tropical StormAug 6, 2024EM-3608-NCEM
HurricaneOct 1, 2022EM-3586-NCEM
HurricaneAug 2, 2020EM-3534-NCEM
BiologicalMar 25, 2020DR-4487-NCDR
BiologicalMar 13, 2020EM-3471-NCEM
HurricaneSep 3, 2019EM-3423-NCEM
HurricaneSep 14, 2018DR-4393-NCDR
HurricaneSep 10, 2018EM-3401-NCEM
HurricaneSep 5, 2005EM-3222-NCEM
HurricaneSep 10, 2004DR-1546-NCDR
Severe Ice StormDec 12, 2002DR-1448-NCDR
Severe StormJan 31, 2000DR-1312-NCDR

Every declaration on record

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

Showing 14 declarations

DateNumberTypeHazardTitle
Sep 28, 2024DR-4827-NCDRTropical StormTropical Storm Helene
Sep 26, 2024EM-3617-NCEMTropical StormHurricane Helene
Aug 6, 2024EM-3608-NCEMTropical StormTropical Storm Debby
Oct 1, 2022EM-3586-NCEMHurricaneHurricane Ian
Aug 2, 2020EM-3534-NCEMHurricaneHurricane Isaias
Mar 25, 2020DR-4487-NCDRBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
Mar 13, 2020EM-3471-NCEMBiologicalCovid-19
Sep 3, 2019EM-3423-NCEMHurricaneHurricane Dorian
Sep 14, 2018DR-4393-NCDRHurricaneHurricane Florence
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
Jan 31, 2000DR-1312-NCDRSevere StormSevere Winter 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