Disaster Data / States / South Carolina / Pickens County
CountyPickens County recorded 23 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 8 major disasters, 12 emergencies, and 3 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is hurricane.
Highlighted: Pickens County, SC
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 Pickens County runs between 2004 and 2025, covering 23 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Hurricane Helene in 2024. The hazards behind these declarations were most often hurricane, severe storm, and fire. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $51.9 million in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for emergency protective measures.
Historical declarations show what has happened here. These national datasets add context about underlying natural-hazard risk and community vulnerability.
Approximately 57.2% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency protective measures(B) | 43 | $39,837,027 |
| Utilities(F) | 17 | $5,866,050 |
| Debris removal(A) | 23 | $2,332,980 |
| Management costs(Z) | 9 | $2,144,625 |
| Roads and bridges(C) | 18 | $1,047,178 |
| Parks and recreation(G) | 10 | $578,382 |
| Buildings and equipment(E) | 6 | $76,365 |
| Water control facilities(D) | 1 | $11,221 |
| All categories | 127 | $51,893,828 |
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 9-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 162 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 | $2,438,337 |
| Rental assistance | $401,052 |
| Other needs | $11,992,669 |
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) | 6 | $2,279,135 |
| Flood Mitigation Assistance(FMA) | 1 | $50,121 |
| Pre-Disaster Mitigation(PDM) | 1 | $39,247 |
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 South Carolina: 1966-present official State Library collection, enriched from the 2017-present Governor archive
| Signed | Order | Declaration | Hazards reported here | Reported damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2024 | 2024-24 | Declaring State of Emergency for Hurricane Helene | Flash Flood, Flood | $335,000 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | SC-ACTION-1994-08-16-7a23d3c9 | This executive order by Governor Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. declares a state of emergency in Lexington County due to tornado damage. | Hail | $50,000 |
| Mar 30, 1994 | SC-ACTION-1994-03-30-0153e7e3 | This executive order by Governor Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. declares a state of emergency in Oconee County due to tornado damage. | Hail, Thunderstorm Wind | Not reported |
| May 7, 1989 | SC-ACTION-1989-05-07-2c31cf37 | This executive order by Governor Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. declares a state of emergency in Cherokee and Spartanburg Counties due to tornadoes. | Thunderstorm Wind | Not reported |
| Mar 29, 1984 | SC-ACTION-1984-03-29-4609209f | This executive order by Governor Richard W. Riley declares a state of emergency in South Carolina due to a severe storm. | Hail, Thunderstorm Wind | 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 Pickens County, sourced to OpenFEMA and refreshed weekly. Copy it straight into your plan.
| Hazard | Date | FEMA declaration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire | Mar 23, 2025 | FM-5575-SC | FM |
| Fire | Mar 23, 2025 | FM-5576-SC | FM |
| Hurricane | Sep 29, 2024 | DR-4829-SC | DR |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | EM-3619-SC | EM |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 5, 2024 | EM-3606-SC | EM |
| Hurricane | Aug 31, 2023 | EM-3597-SC | EM |
| Hurricane | Nov 21, 2022 | DR-4677-SC | DR |
| Hurricane | Sep 29, 2022 | EM-3585-SC | EM |
| Severe Storm | May 1, 2020 | DR-4542-SC | DR |
| Biological | Mar 27, 2020 | DR-4492-SC | DR |
| Severe Storm | Mar 17, 2020 | DR-4479-SC | DR |
| Biological | Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3470-SC | EM |
| Hurricane | Sep 1, 2019 | EM-3421-SC | EM |
| Hurricane | Sep 10, 2018 | EM-3400-SC | EM |
| Hurricane | Oct 16, 2017 | DR-4346-SC | DR |
| Hurricane | Sep 7, 2017 | EM-3386-SC | EM |
| Fire | Nov 12, 2016 | FM-5162-SC | FM |
| Hurricane | Oct 6, 2016 | EM-3378-SC | EM |
| Severe Storm | Oct 3, 2015 | EM-3373-SC | EM |
| Severe Ice Storm | Feb 12, 2014 | EM-3369-SC | EM |
| Severe Ice Storm | Jan 20, 2006 | DR-1625-SC | DR |
| Hurricane | Sep 10, 2005 | EM-3233-SC | EM |
| Hurricane | Oct 7, 2004 | DR-1566-SC | DR |
DR = Major disaster (Stafford Act) · EM = Emergency declaration · FM = Fire management assistance
Showing 23 declarations
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 23, 2025 | FM-5575-SC | FM | Fire | Table Rock Fire |
| Mar 23, 2025 | FM-5576-SC | FM | Fire | Table Rock Fire Complex |
| 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 1, 2019 | EM-3421-SC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Dorian |
| 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 6, 2016 | EM-3378-SC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Matthew |
| Oct 3, 2015 | EM-3373-SC | EM | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Feb 12, 2014 | EM-3369-SC | EM | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 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 |
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 South 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.