Disaster Data / States / Pennsylvania / Lackawanna County
CountyLackawanna County recorded 13 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 9 major disasters, 4 emergencies, and 0 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is severe storm.
Highlighted: Lackawanna County, PA
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 Lackawanna County runs between 2003 and 2020, covering 13 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020. The hazards behind these declarations were most often severe storm, hurricane, and flood. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $15.7 million in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for roads and bridges.
Historical declarations show what has happened here. These national datasets add context about underlying natural-hazard risk and community vulnerability.
Approximately 55.6% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Roads and bridges(C) | 316 | $6,081,244 |
| Emergency protective measures(B) | 107 | $5,518,665 |
| Debris removal(A) | 88 | $1,474,822 |
| Parks and recreation(G) | 18 | $925,831 |
| Utilities(F) | 31 | $864,939 |
| Management costs(Z) | 11 | $376,019 |
| Water control facilities(D) | 16 | $290,770 |
| Buildings and equipment(E) | 23 | $187,543 |
| All categories | 610 | $15,719,833 |
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 8-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 91 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 | $2,279,357 |
| Rental assistance | $263,632 |
| Other needs | $4,894,830 |
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) | 11 | $4,805,833 |
| Legislative Pre-Disaster Mitigation(LPDM) | 2 | $3,641,650 |
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 Pennsylvania: 2018-present linked PEMA proclamation history; older Pennsylvania Bulletin backfill pending
| Signed | Order | Declaration | Hazards reported here | Reported damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 2024 | PA-PROC-2024-08-09-tropical-storm-debby-afd0db9 | Remnants of Tropical Storm Debby bring dangerous conditions, including flash and rivervine flooding. | Flash Flood | $25,000 |
| Aug 31, 2021 | PA-PROC-2021-08-31-hurricane-ida-b4a5355 | Hurricane Ida after-effects bring heavy rains and a serious threat of flash and riverine flooding to Pennsylvania. | Flash Flood | $5,000 |
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 Lackawanna County, sourced to OpenFEMA and refreshed weekly. Copy it straight into your plan.
| Hazard | Date | FEMA declaration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological | Mar 30, 2020 | DR-4506-PA | DR |
| Biological | Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3441-PA | EM |
| Severe Storm | Nov 27, 2018 | DR-4408-PA | DR |
| Hurricane | Oct 29, 2012 | EM-3356-PA | EM |
| Flood | Sep 12, 2011 | DR-4030-PA | DR |
| Flood | Sep 8, 2011 | EM-3340-PA | EM |
| Severe Storm | Feb 23, 2007 | DR-1684-PA | DR |
| Severe Storm | Jun 30, 2006 | DR-1649-PA | DR |
| Hurricane | Sep 10, 2005 | EM-3235-PA | EM |
| Severe Storm | Apr 14, 2005 | DR-1587-PA | DR |
| Severe Storm | Sep 19, 2004 | DR-1555-PA | DR |
| Hurricane | Sep 19, 2004 | DR-1557-PA | DR |
| Severe Storm | Aug 23, 2003 | DR-1485-PA | DR |
DR = Major disaster (Stafford Act) · EM = Emergency declaration · FM = Fire management assistance
Showing 13 declarations
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 23, 2003 | DR-1485-PA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding |
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 Pennsylvania'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.