Disaster Data / States / Tennessee / Van Buren County
CountyVan Buren County recorded 8 federal major disaster declarations since FY2000 (through FY2026), the federal government's fullest response to an event. Alongside those sit 4 emergency declarations and 0 fire management declarations, 12 in all. Its most common hazard is severe storm.
Highlighted: Van Buren County, TN
Totals: FY2000 to FY2026 · Page last rebuilt Oct 26, 2026 · the current in-progress fiscal year is not included in totals
The federal disaster record for Van Buren County runs between 2002 and 2026, covering 12 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm in 2026. The hazards behind these declarations were most often severe storm, biological, and winter storm. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated $183,743 in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for roads and bridges.
Past 12 months
Van Buren County has been named in 2 federal declarations in the past 12 months. The figures are what FEMA has reported for Van Buren County 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-4898-TNMajor disaster · Winter Storm | Feb 6, 2026Incident period Jan 22 to 27, 2026 | None reported | None reported | None reported yet |
| EM-3635-TNEmergency · Winter Storm | Jan 24, 2026Incident period Jan 22 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, with the same figures for every place it covers.
Historical declarations show what has happened here. These national datasets add context about underlying natural-hazard risk and community vulnerability.
Approximately 62.3% 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
$184K has been obligated to Van Buren County in Public Assistance since FY2000.
$184K followed major disasters other than COVID-19.
Obligated is the committed share, not necessarily spent, and can be revised as projects close out.
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) | 8 | $116,098 |
| Debris removal(A) | 2 | $51,180 |
| Emergency protective measures(B) | 2 | $16,183 |
| Management costs(Z) | 1 | $282 |
| All categories | 13 | $183,743 |
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 2-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 117 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 | $5,908 |
| Rental assistance | $1,106 |
| Other needs | $54,598 |
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) | 1 | $25,974 |
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 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.
Showing 12 declarations
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 6, 2026 | DR-4898-TN | DR | Winter Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| Jan 24, 2026 | EM-3635-TN | EM | Winter Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| Apr 2, 2025 | EM-3625-TN | EM | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding |
| Sep 27, 2023 | DR-4742-TN | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornado |
| Apr 2, 2020 | DR-4514-TN | DR | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3473-TN | EM | Biological | Covid-19 |
| Apr 17, 2019 | DR-4427-TN | DR | Flood | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides |
| Apr 2, 2015 | DR-4211-TN | DR | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storm And Flooding |
| Sep 5, 2005 | EM-3217-TN | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| Mar 20, 2003 | DR-1456-TN | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Nov 13, 2002 | DR-1441-TN | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Tornados |
| Apr 5, 2002 | DR-1408-TN | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms 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 Tennessee'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). Declarations from the fiscal year still in progress are listed in the tables on this page but are not counted in the totals until the year is complete. 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.