Disaster Data / States / Rhode Island
Rhode Island: Federal Disaster Declarations
Rhode Island has recorded 11 major disaster declarations since FY2000 (through FY2026), the federal government's fullest response to an event. Alongside those sit 9 emergency declarations and 1 fire management declarations, 21 in all. Its most common hazard is severe storm. It ranks #51 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
$935M has been obligated to Rhode Island in Public Assistance since FY2000.
$74M followed major disasters other than COVID-19. $9M followed emergency declarations, which cover debris removal and emergency protective work only. $853M, or 91% 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 8
- Hurricane 6
- Snowstorm 3
- Biological 3
- Fire 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 21 declarations
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 2024 | DR-4765-RI | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storm And Flooding |
| Mar 20, 2024 | DR-4766-RI | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Jan 7, 2024 | DR-4753-RI | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes |
| Apr 14, 2023 | FM-5464-RI | FM | Fire | Queens River Fire |
| May 12, 2022 | DR-4653-RI | DR | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm |
| Aug 21, 2021 | EM-3563-RI | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Henri |
| Mar 30, 2020 | DR-4505-RI | DR | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3515-RI | EM | Biological | Covid-19 |
| Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3440-RI | EM | Biological | Covid-19 |
| Apr 3, 2015 | DR-4212-RI | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm |
| Mar 22, 2013 | DR-4107-RI | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm |
| Nov 3, 2012 | DR-4089-RI | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| Oct 29, 2012 | EM-3355-RI | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| Sep 3, 2011 | DR-4027-RI | DR | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Irene |
| Aug 27, 2011 | EM-3334-RI | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| Mar 30, 2010 | EM-3311-RI | EM | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Mar 29, 2010 | DR-1894-RI | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| May 25, 2007 | DR-1704-RI | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Inland And Coastal Flooding |
| Sep 19, 2005 | EM-3255-RI | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| Feb 17, 2005 | EM-3203-RI | EM | Snowstorm | Record Snow |
| Mar 27, 2003 | EM-3182-RI | EM | Snowstorm | Snow |
Individual Assistance to households
FEMA Individual Assistance to households across Rhode Island, 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 | $41M |
| Rental assistance | $16M |
| Other needs | $16M |
Hazard mitigation funded
Federal Hazard Mitigation Assistance obligated across Rhode Island 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) | 85 | $24M |
| Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) | 39 | $3M |
| Legislative Pre-Disaster Mitigation (LPDM) | 3 | $1M |
| Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) | 14 | $955K |
| Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) | 10 | $410K |
| Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) | 1 | $41K |
Denied requests
FEMA turned down 5 declaration requests from Rhode Island since FY2000, a declaration-request denial rate of 19.2%. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 2026 | Major Disaster | Winter Storm |
| Sep 2, 2010 | Emergency | Hurricane |
| Nov 22, 2005 | Major Disaster | Flood |
| Feb 24, 2003 | Major Disaster | Fire |
| Apr 20, 2001 | 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.