Disaster Data / States / Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania: Federal Disaster Declarations
Pennsylvania has recorded 21 major disaster declarations since FY2000 (through FY2026), the federal government's fullest response to an event. Alongside those sit 7 emergency declarations and 0 fire management declarations, 28 in all. Its most common hazard is severe storm. It ranks #40 nationally by major disasters.
Totals: FY2000 to FY2026 · Page last rebuilt Oct 25, 2026 · the current in-progress fiscal year is not included in totals
Federal Public Assistance obligated
$3.1B has been obligated to Pennsylvania in Public Assistance since FY2000.
$772M followed major disasters other than COVID-19. $25M followed emergency declarations, which cover debris removal and emergency protective work only. $2.3B, or 75% of the total, was COVID-19, which every state and county in the country received.
Obligated is the committed share, not necessarily spent, and can be revised as projects close out. Totals are summed from funded localities, so a declaration administered entirely at state level may not appear here.
Most common hazards
- Severe Storm 12
- Hurricane 7
- Flood 3
- Biological 2
- Snowstorm 2
- Tropical Storm 1
- Severe Ice Storm 1
All declarations on record
Major disaster (DR). The big one. Opens the full toolbox: repair money for public infrastructure, help for households, and mitigation funding to reduce the next loss.
Emergency (EM). Narrower and usually faster, for protective work before or during an incident. Capped, and rarely brings household assistance. Nearly every state and county has one from COVID-19.
Fire management (FM). Cost sharing to fight a wildfire as it burns. Not a disaster declaration, and it does not open recovery programs.
DR = Major disaster (Stafford Act) · EM = Emergency declaration · FM = Fire management assistance
Showing 28 declarations
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 2024 | DR-4815-PA | DR | Tropical Storm | Tropical Storm Debby |
| Sep 10, 2021 | DR-4618-PA | DR | Hurricane | Remnants Of Hurricane Ida |
| Mar 30, 2020 | DR-4506-PA | DR | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3441-PA | EM | Biological | Covid-19 |
| Nov 27, 2018 | DR-4408-PA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Dec 2, 2016 | DR-4292-PA | DR | Flood | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Mar 23, 2016 | DR-4267-PA | DR | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm |
| Feb 6, 2014 | EM-3367-PA | EM | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| Oct 1, 2013 | DR-4149-PA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding |
| Jan 10, 2013 | DR-4099-PA | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| Oct 29, 2012 | EM-3356-PA | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| Sep 12, 2011 | DR-4030-PA | DR | Flood | Tropical Storm Lee |
| Sep 8, 2011 | EM-3340-PA | EM | Flood | Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee |
| Sep 3, 2011 | DR-4025-PA | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| Aug 29, 2011 | EM-3339-PA | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| Jul 13, 2011 | DR-4003-PA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Apr 16, 2010 | DR-1898-PA | DR | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms |
| Feb 23, 2007 | DR-1684-PA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Jun 30, 2006 | DR-1649-PA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides |
| Sep 10, 2005 | EM-3235-PA | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina |
| Apr 14, 2005 | DR-1587-PA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Sep 19, 2004 | DR-1555-PA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances |
| Sep 19, 2004 | DR-1557-PA | DR | Hurricane | Tropical Depression Ivan |
| Aug 6, 2004 | DR-1538-PA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Sep 26, 2003 | DR-1497-PA | DR | Severe Storm | Tropical Storms Henri And Isabel And Related Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Aug 23, 2003 | DR-1485-PA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding |
| Mar 14, 2003 | EM-3180-PA | EM | Severe Storm | Snow |
| Jun 21, 2001 | DR-1383-PA | DR | Severe Storm | Tropical Storm Allison |
Individual Assistance to households
FEMA Individual Assistance to households across Pennsylvania, combined across the Housing Assistance owner and renter programs. Valid registrations are households that applied within a designated Individual Assistance area; approved figures are those FEMA found eligible under the Individuals and Households Program. Self-reported, drawn from NEMIS through OpenFEMA, and present only where Individual Assistance was designated.
| Assistance type | Approved amount |
|---|---|
| Repair and replacement | $242M |
| Rental assistance | $85M |
| Other needs | $255M |
Hazard mitigation funded
Federal Hazard Mitigation Assistance obligated across Pennsylvania to reduce future disaster losses, by program. Figures are federal share obligated, reported through OpenFEMA and not audited.
| Program | Projects | Federal share obligated |
|---|---|---|
| Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) | 508 | $212M |
| Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) | 54 | $20M |
| Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) | 74 | $12M |
| Legislative Pre-Disaster Mitigation (LPDM) | 18 | $12M |
| Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) | 15 | $11M |
| Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) | 15 | $7M |
| Repetitive Flood Claims (RFC) | 2 | $2M |
Denied requests
FEMA turned down 8 declaration requests from Pennsylvania since FY2000, a declaration-request denial rate of 22.2%. This is the President denying a governor or tribal leader's request for a declaration, tracked in a separate FEMA dataset from approved declarations, and is not the same thing as an individual being denied assistance under an approved declaration.
| Date | Type | Hazard |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 6, 2024 | Emergency | Snowstorm |
| Nov 9, 2023 | Major Disaster | Flood |
| Jul 31, 2023 | Major Disaster | Flood |
| Oct 5, 2020 | Major Disaster | Hurricane |
| Jun 22, 2018 | Major Disaster | Severe Storm |
| May 2, 2017 | Major Disaster | Snowstorm |
| Jun 29, 2009 | Major Disaster | Flood |
| Dec 5, 2003 | Major Disaster | Flood |
How these numbers are built
Every figure is drawn from FEMA's OpenFEMA datasets: the Disaster Declarations Summaries for declarations and the Declaration Denials dataset for turndowns, rebuilt automatically each week. A "declaration" is one unique combination of declaration type (DR / EM / FM), disaster number, and state, so a single disaster affecting five states counts as five declarations. Years are federal fiscal years (Oct 1 to Sep 30). Totals, ranks, and rates on this page cover complete fiscal years only. Declarations from the fiscal year still in progress are listed in each state's declaration tables and its recent-declarations panel, but are not counted in any total until the year is complete. Uses OpenFEMA data but is not endorsed by or affiliated with FEMA.