Disaster Data / States / Virginia / Bedford County

County

Bedford County, Virginia

Bedford 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: Bedford County, VA

Totals: FY2000–FY2025 · Page last rebuilt Sep 12, 2026 · the current in-progress fiscal year is not included in totals

13
Declarations since FY2000
9
Major disasters (DR)
4
Emergencies (EM)
0
Fire management (FM)
Jan 2026
Most recent
$186K
Federal PA obligated (top: utilities)

The federal disaster record for Bedford County runs between 2000 and 2025, covering 13 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms And Flooding in 2025. The hazards behind these declarations were most often severe storm, hurricane, and biological. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated $186,442 in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for utilities.

Risk and vulnerability context

Historical declarations show what has happened here. These national datasets add context about underlying natural-hazard risk and community vulnerability.

County FIPS 51019
CDC / ATSDR

Social Vulnerability Index

2022 county-level SVI
8.5
overall percentile nationally

Approximately 8.5% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.

Socioeconomic status8.8
Household characteristics12.2
Racial and ethnic minority status40.8
Housing type and transportation17.2

Higher percentiles indicate greater relative social vulnerability within the CDC SVI framework. CDC SVI documentation

FEMA

National Risk Index

December 2025
51.2
overall risk score
Relatively Low
Expected annual loss$17.6MRelatively Low
NRI social vulnerability31.1Relatively Low
Community resilience57.1Relatively Moderate

The NRI combines expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience to describe relative natural-hazard risk. FEMA NRI documentation

About these measures: CDC Social Vulnerability Index and FEMA National Risk Index Social Vulnerability are separate measures built with different methods. They are shown side by side for context and should not be interpreted as equivalent scores.

Federal Public Assistance by category

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.

CategoryProjectsFederal share obligated
Utilities(F)4$99,592
Debris removal(A)1$50,590
Emergency protective measures(B)7$35,015
Management costs(Z)1$978
Buildings and equipment(E)1$267
All categories14$186,442

Recovery funding, how fast it came

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 1-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 89 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.

Severe Winter Storms And Flooding 2025$38K
98 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms And Straight-Line Winds 2012$118K
80 days to first federal obligation
Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm 2010$14K
98 days to first federal obligation
Hurricane Isabel 2003$17K
41 days to first federal obligation
Declared1 yr

Assistance to households (Individual Assistance)

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.

124
valid registrations
62
households approved
$379,545
total IHP approved
Assistance typeApproved amount
Repair and replacement$25,951
Rental assistance$13,870
Other needs$339,724

Hazard mitigation, what has been funded here

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.

$3,445,479
federal mitigation share
1
funded project
ProgramProjectsFederal share obligated
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP)1$3,445,479

State declarations (governor)

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.

9
state declarations with local storm evidence
75
statewide on record

Archive coverage for Virginia: 2002-present

SignedOrderDeclarationHazards reported hereReported damage
Sep 25, 2024EO-37Executive Order 37 (2024) Declaration of a State of Emergency Due to Hurricane HelenFlash Flood, Tornado$113,440
Aug 6, 2024EO-34Executive Order 34 (2024) Declaration of a State of Emergency Due to Hurricane/Tropical Storm DebbyFlash FloodNot reported
Jul 3, 2012EO-49Executive Order 49 (2012) Declaration of a State of Emergency for the Commonwealth of Virginia Due to a Severe Storm Event throughout the CommnwealthHail, Thunderstorm Wind$300
Sep 28, 2011EO-40Executive Order 40 (2011) Declaration of a State of Emergency for the Commonwealth of Virginia due to the Threat of Significant Flooding, Heavy Rains, and Wind Damage caused by Hurricane IreneThunderstorm Wind$2,700
Jun 30, 2006EO-27Executive Order 27 (2006) Declaration of a State of Emergency for the Commonwealth of Virginia Due to Significant Flooding, Transportation Impacts, Mudslides, and Continued Flash Flood Warnings Due to Extensive Rainfall Beginning June 23, 2006 from a Severe Tropical Weather System.Flood, Thunderstorm Wind$900
Sep 29, 2004EO-82Executive Order 82 (2004) Declaration of a State of Emergency for the Commonwealth Due to Significant Flooding and Tornadoes Caused by Hurricane Jeanne.Flash FloodNot reported
Sep 17, 2004EO-81Executive Order 81 (2004) Declaration of a State of Emergency for the Entire Commonwealth Due to the Threat of Significant Flooding and Tornadoes Caused by Hurricane Ivan.Thunderstorm Wind, TornadoNot reported
Sep 8, 2004EO-80Executive Order 80 (2004) Declaration of a State of Emergency for the Commonwwealth of Virginia Due to Significant Rains and Threat of Tornadoes and Damaging Flash Flooding.Flash FloodNot reported
May 28, 2003EO-48Executive Order 48 (2003) Declaration of a State of Emergency Due to Tornado and Severe Storm Damage Across the Commonwealth.Thunderstorm WindNot 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.

Most common hazards

Previous occurrences, for your mitigation plan

Every local hazard mitigation plan must document previous occurrences of each hazard. Here is that record for Bedford County, sourced to OpenFEMA and refreshed weekly. Copy it straight into your plan.

HazardDateFEMA declarationType
Severe StormApr 4, 2025DR-4863-VADR
Tropical StormOct 1, 2024DR-4831-VADR
Tropical StormSep 29, 2024EM-3621-VAEM
Severe Ice StormMay 10, 2021DR-4602-VADR
BiologicalApr 2, 2020DR-4512-VADR
BiologicalMar 13, 2020EM-3448-VAEM
HurricaneOct 29, 2012EM-3359-VAEM
Severe StormJul 27, 2012DR-4072-VADR
SnowstormFeb 16, 2010DR-1874-VADR
HurricaneSep 12, 2005EM-3240-VAEM
HurricaneSep 18, 2003DR-1491-VADR
Severe StormMay 5, 2002DR-1411-VADR
Severe StormFeb 28, 2000DR-1318-VADR

Every declaration on record

DR = Major disaster (Stafford Act) · EM = Emergency declaration · FM = Fire management assistance

Showing 13 declarations

DateNumberTypeHazardTitle
Apr 4, 2025DR-4863-VADRSevere StormSevere Winter Storms And Flooding
Oct 1, 2024DR-4831-VADRTropical StormTropical Storm Helene
Sep 29, 2024EM-3621-VAEMTropical StormPost-Tropical Cyclone Helene
May 10, 2021DR-4602-VADRSevere Ice StormSevere Winter Storms
Apr 2, 2020DR-4512-VADRBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
Mar 13, 2020EM-3448-VAEMBiologicalCovid-19
Oct 29, 2012EM-3359-VAEMHurricaneHurricane Sandy
Jul 27, 2012DR-4072-VADRSevere StormSevere Storms And Straight-Line Winds
Feb 16, 2010DR-1874-VADRSnowstormSevere Winter Storm And Snowstorm
Sep 12, 2005EM-3240-VAEMHurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
Sep 18, 2003DR-1491-VADRHurricaneHurricane Isabel
May 5, 2002DR-1411-VADRSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
Feb 28, 2000DR-1318-VADRSevere StormSevere Winter Storms
← Virginia statewide overview · All Virginia jurisdictions

How these numbers are built

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 Virginia'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.

Cite this profile

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.

Other Virginia jurisdictions