Disaster Data / States / North Carolina / Watauga County
CountyWatauga County recorded 15 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 8 major disasters, 7 emergencies, and 0 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is hurricane.
Highlighted: Watauga County, NC
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 Watauga County runs between 2004 and 2024, covering 15 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Helene in 2024. The hazards behind these declarations were most often hurricane, flood, and biological. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $86.9 million in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for buildings and equipment.
Historical declarations show what has happened here. These national datasets add context about underlying natural-hazard risk and community vulnerability.
Approximately 42.4% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Buildings and equipment(E) | 53 | $28,800,181 |
| Roads and bridges(C) | 55 | $15,540,527 |
| Debris removal(A) | 37 | $12,390,465 |
| Emergency protective measures(B) | 72 | $11,347,717 |
| Utilities(F) | 21 | $9,821,522 |
| Parks and recreation(G) | 36 | $4,106,878 |
| Management costs(Z) | 17 | $3,786,476 |
| Water control facilities(D) | 6 | $1,103,279 |
| All categories | 297 | $86,897,045 |
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 6-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 47 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.
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.
| Assistance type | Approved amount |
|---|---|
| Repair and replacement | $16,777,303 |
| Rental assistance | $867,524 |
| Other needs | $11,870,931 |
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) | 9 | $9,134,688 |
| Pre-Disaster Mitigation(PDM) | 2 | $999,653 |
| Flood Mitigation Assistance(FMA) | 1 | $77,800 |
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 North Carolina: 2017-01-06-present structured Governor archive; North Carolina Register backfill pending
| Signed | Order | Declaration | Hazards reported here | Reported damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 2020 | 154 | DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA FOR HURRICANE ISAIAS | Thunderstorm Wind | Not reported |
| Oct 10, 2018 | 74 | Executive Order No. 74: Declaration of a State of Emergency | Flash Flood, Heavy Rain | 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 Watauga County, sourced to OpenFEMA and refreshed weekly. Copy it straight into your plan.
| Hazard | Date | FEMA declaration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 28, 2024 | DR-4827-NC | DR |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | EM-3617-NC | EM |
| Hurricane | Oct 1, 2022 | EM-3586-NC | EM |
| Hurricane | Sep 8, 2021 | DR-4617-NC | DR |
| Hurricane | Aug 2, 2020 | EM-3534-NC | EM |
| Biological | Mar 25, 2020 | DR-4487-NC | DR |
| Biological | Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3471-NC | EM |
| Hurricane | Sep 3, 2019 | EM-3423-NC | EM |
| Hurricane | Sep 10, 2018 | EM-3401-NC | EM |
| Flood | Oct 29, 2013 | DR-4153-NC | DR |
| Flood | Sep 25, 2013 | DR-4146-NC | DR |
| Severe Storm | Feb 2, 2010 | DR-1871-NC | DR |
| Hurricane | Sep 5, 2005 | EM-3222-NC | EM |
| Hurricane | Sep 18, 2004 | DR-1553-NC | DR |
| Hurricane | Sep 10, 2004 | DR-1546-NC | DR |
DR = Major disaster (Stafford Act) · EM = Emergency declaration · FM = Fire management assistance
Showing 15 declarations
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 2024 | DR-4827-NC | DR | Tropical Storm | Tropical Storm Helene |
| Sep 26, 2024 | EM-3617-NC | EM | Tropical Storm | Hurricane Helene |
| Oct 1, 2022 | EM-3586-NC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Ian |
| Sep 8, 2021 | DR-4617-NC | DR | Hurricane | Remnants Of Tropical Storm Fred |
| Aug 2, 2020 | EM-3534-NC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Isaias |
| Mar 25, 2020 | DR-4487-NC | DR | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3471-NC | EM | Biological | Covid-19 |
| Sep 3, 2019 | EM-3423-NC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Dorian |
| Sep 10, 2018 | EM-3401-NC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence |
| Oct 29, 2013 | DR-4153-NC | DR | Flood | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides |
| Sep 25, 2013 | DR-4146-NC | DR | Flood | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides |
| Feb 2, 2010 | DR-1871-NC | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms And Flooding |
| Sep 5, 2005 | EM-3222-NC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| Sep 18, 2004 | DR-1553-NC | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Ivan |
| Sep 10, 2004 | DR-1546-NC | DR | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Frances |
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.
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.