Disaster Data / States / South Carolina
South Carolina: Federal Disaster Declarations
South Carolina has recorded 21 major disaster declarations since FY2000 (through FY2026), the federal government's fullest response to an event. Alongside those sit 13 emergency declarations and 7 fire management declarations, 41 in all. Its most common hazard is hurricane. It ranks #38 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
Past 12 months
Recent declarations and aid so far
South Carolina has had 2 federal declarations in the past 12 months. The figures are what FEMA has reported to date and grow as recovery continues. All of them fall in complete fiscal years and are counted in the totals above.
| Declaration | Declared | Households approved | Individual Assistance | Public Assistance obligated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DR-4908-SCMajor disaster · Winter Storm | Apr 7, 2026Incident period Jan 21 to 27, 2026 | None reported | None reported | $2.1M |
| EM-3632-SCEmergency · Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026Incident period Jan 21 to 27, 2026 | None reported | None reported | None reported yet |
Individual Assistance is FEMA's Individuals and Households Program, from OpenFEMA's Housing Assistance data for owners and renters. Public Assistance is the obligated federal share from OpenFEMA's grant award activity, which usually starts posting weeks to months after a declaration. Select a declaration number to open its full event profile.
Federal Public Assistance obligated
$2.3B has been obligated to South Carolina in Public Assistance since FY2000.
$1.5B followed major disasters other than COVID-19. $8M followed emergency declarations, which cover debris removal and emergency protective work only. $831M, or 36% 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
- Hurricane 15
- Fire 7
- Severe Storm 5
- Severe Ice Storm 5
- Tropical Storm 3
- Winter Storm 2
- Flood 2
- Biological 2
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 41 declarations
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | DR-4908-SC | DR | Winter Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| Jan 23, 2026 | EM-3632-SC | EM | Winter Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| Mar 23, 2025 | FM-5575-SC | FM | Fire | Table Rock Fire |
| Mar 23, 2025 | FM-5576-SC | FM | Fire | Table Rock Fire Complex |
| Mar 7, 2025 | FM-5554-SC | FM | Fire | Covington Drive Fire |
| Jan 10, 2025 | DR-4858-SC | DR | Flood | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Sep 29, 2024 | DR-4835-SC | DR | Tropical Storm | Tropical Storm Debby |
| Sep 29, 2024 | DR-4829-SC | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Helene |
| Sep 26, 2024 | EM-3619-SC | EM | Tropical Storm | Hurricane Helene |
| Aug 5, 2024 | EM-3606-SC | EM | Tropical Storm | Hurricane Debby |
| Aug 31, 2023 | EM-3597-SC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Idalia |
| Nov 21, 2022 | DR-4677-SC | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Ian |
| Sep 29, 2022 | EM-3585-SC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Ian |
| May 1, 2020 | DR-4542-SC | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-Line Winds |
| Mar 27, 2020 | DR-4492-SC | DR | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| Mar 17, 2020 | DR-4479-SC | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding |
| Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3470-SC | EM | Biological | Covid-19 |
| Sep 30, 2019 | DR-4464-SC | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Dorian |
| Sep 1, 2019 | EM-3421-SC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Dorian |
| Sep 16, 2018 | DR-4394-SC | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence |
| Sep 10, 2018 | EM-3400-SC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence |
| Oct 16, 2017 | DR-4346-SC | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Irma |
| Sep 7, 2017 | EM-3386-SC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Irma |
| Nov 12, 2016 | FM-5162-SC | FM | Fire | Pinnacle Mountain Fire |
| Oct 11, 2016 | DR-4286-SC | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Matthew |
| Oct 6, 2016 | EM-3378-SC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Matthew |
| Oct 5, 2015 | DR-4241-SC | DR | Flood | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Oct 3, 2015 | EM-3373-SC | EM | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Mar 12, 2014 | DR-4166-SC | DR | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| Feb 12, 2014 | EM-3369-SC | EM | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| Apr 23, 2009 | FM-2816-SC | FM | Fire | Highway 31 Fire |
| Jan 20, 2006 | DR-1625-SC | DR | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Ice Storm |
| Sep 10, 2005 | EM-3233-SC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| Oct 7, 2004 | DR-1566-SC | DR | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Frances |
| Sep 15, 2004 | DR-1547-SC | DR | Severe Storm | Tropical Storm Gaston |
| Sep 1, 2004 | DR-1543-SC | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Charley |
| Feb 13, 2004 | DR-1509-SC | DR | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Ice Storm |
| Jan 8, 2003 | DR-1451-SC | DR | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Ice Storm |
| Jun 18, 2002 | FM-2426-SC | FM | Fire | Sc-Legends Fire |
| Nov 9, 2001 | FM-2388-SC | FM | Fire | Sc - Long Bay Fire - 11/09/2001 |
| Jan 31, 2000 | DR-1313-SC | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
Individual Assistance to households
FEMA Individual Assistance to households across South Carolina, 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 | $180M |
| Rental assistance | $58M |
| Other needs | $342M |
Hazard mitigation funded
Federal Hazard Mitigation Assistance obligated across South Carolina 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) | 396 | $172M |
| Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) | 57 | $23M |
| Legislative Pre-Disaster Mitigation (LPDM) | 4 | $8M |
| Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) | 36 | $6M |
| Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) | 9 | $2M |
Denied requests
FEMA turned down 6 declaration requests from South Carolina since FY2000, a declaration-request denial rate of 12.8%. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 5, 2024 | Major Disaster | Dam/Levee Break |
| May 7, 2024 | Major Disaster | Severe Storm |
| Feb 2, 2024 | Major Disaster | Severe Storm |
| Mar 24, 2008 | Major Disaster | Tornado |
| Jun 13, 2006 | Emergency | Fire |
| Jan 11, 2005 | Emergency | Chemical |
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.