Disaster Data / States / Virginia / Essex County

County

Essex County, Virginia

Essex County recorded 15 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 11 major disasters, 4 emergencies, and 0 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is hurricane.

Highlighted: Essex County, VA

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

15
Declarations since FY2000
11
Major disasters (DR)
4
Emergencies (EM)
0
Fire management (FM)
Jan 2026
Most recent
$188K
Federal PA obligated (top: debris removal)

The federal disaster record for Essex County runs between 2000 and 2022, covering 15 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm in 2022. The hazards behind these declarations were most often hurricane, severe storm, and biological. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated $188,006 in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for debris removal.

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 51057
CDC / ATSDR

Social Vulnerability Index

2022 county-level SVI
82.7
overall percentile nationally

Approximately 82.7% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.

Socioeconomic status95.9
Household characteristics60.5
Racial and ethnic minority status84.4
Housing type and transportation43.1

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

FEMA

National Risk Index

December 2025
18.6
overall risk score
Very Low
Expected annual loss$5.4MVery Low
NRI social vulnerability72.8Relatively High
Community resilience49.7Relatively 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
Debris removal(A)6$106,579
Emergency protective measures(B)11$78,540
Utilities(F)1$2,888
Buildings and equipment(E)1$0
All categories19$188,007

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 3-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 53 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.

Hurricane Irene 2011$84K
72 days to first federal obligation
Hurricane Isabel 2003$100K
48 days to first federal obligation
Severe Winter Storms 2000$3K
53 days to first federal obligation
Declared1 yr2 yr3 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.

474
valid registrations
200
households approved
$677,318
total IHP approved
Assistance typeApproved amount
Repair and replacement$274,168
Rental assistance$67,183
Other needs$334,329

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.

$525,000
federal mitigation share
2
funded projects
4
properties mitigated
ProgramProjectsFederal share obligated
Pre-Disaster Mitigation(PDM)2$525,000

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.

7
state declarations with local storm evidence
75
statewide on record

Archive coverage for Virginia: 2002-present

SignedOrderDeclarationHazards reported hereReported damage
Jul 31, 2020EO-69Executive Order 69 (2020) Declaration of a State of Emergency Due to Hurricane IsaiasHeavy Rain, Thunderstorm Wind$4,000
Oct 11, 2018EO-23Executive Order 23 (2018) Declaration Of A State Of Emergency For The Commonwealth Of Virginia Due To Hurricane Michael And In Support Of States Affected By The StormFlash Flood, Flood, Heavy RainNot reported
Jun 8, 2018EO-10Executive Order 10 (2018) Declaration Of A State Of Emergency For The Commonwealth Of Virginia Due To Severe Weather And FloodingFloodNot reported
Oct 6, 2016EO-60Executive Order 60 (2016) Declaration of a State of Emergency for the Commonwealth of Virginia Due to Hurricane Matthew and in Support of States Affected by Hurricane Matthew (Updated October 17, 2016)Heavy RainNot reported
Oct 30, 2012EO-53Executive Order 53 (2012) Declaration of a State of Emergency for the Commonwealth of Virginia Due to the Threat of Hurricane Sandy Impacting VirginiaFloodNot reported
Sep 4, 2008EO-76Executive Order 76 (2008) Declaration of a State of Emergency for the Commonwealth of Virginia Due to the Threat of Significant Flooding and Wind Damage Caused by Hurricane Hanna.Heavy RainNot reported
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.Thunderstorm Wind$2,000

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 Essex County, sourced to OpenFEMA and refreshed weekly. Copy it straight into your plan.

HazardDateFEMA declarationType
Severe StormMar 11, 2022DR-4644-VADR
Severe Ice StormMay 10, 2021DR-4602-VADR
BiologicalApr 2, 2020DR-4512-VADR
BiologicalMar 13, 2020EM-3448-VAEM
HurricaneDec 18, 2018DR-4411-VADR
HurricaneNov 26, 2012DR-4092-VADR
HurricaneOct 29, 2012EM-3359-VAEM
Severe StormNov 17, 2011DR-4045-VADR
HurricaneSep 3, 2011DR-4024-VADR
HurricaneAug 26, 2011EM-3329-VAEM
SnowstormApr 27, 2010DR-1905-VADR
Severe StormSep 22, 2006DR-1661-VADR
HurricaneSep 12, 2005EM-3240-VAEM
HurricaneSep 18, 2003DR-1491-VADR
Severe StormFeb 28, 2000DR-1318-VADR

Every declaration on record

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

Showing 15 declarations

DateNumberTypeHazardTitle
Mar 11, 2022DR-4644-VADRSevere StormSevere Winter Storm And Snowstorm
May 10, 2021DR-4602-VADRSevere Ice StormSevere Winter Storms
Apr 2, 2020DR-4512-VADRBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
Mar 13, 2020EM-3448-VAEMBiologicalCovid-19
Dec 18, 2018DR-4411-VADRHurricaneTropical Storm Michael
Nov 26, 2012DR-4092-VADRHurricaneHurricane Sandy
Oct 29, 2012EM-3359-VAEMHurricaneHurricane Sandy
Nov 17, 2011DR-4045-VADRSevere StormThe Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee
Sep 3, 2011DR-4024-VADRHurricaneHurricane Irene
Aug 26, 2011EM-3329-VAEMHurricaneHurricane Irene
Apr 27, 2010DR-1905-VADRSnowstormSevere Winter Storms And Snowstorms
Sep 22, 2006DR-1661-VADRSevere StormTropical Depression Ernesto, Severe Storms And Flooding
Sep 12, 2005EM-3240-VAEMHurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
Sep 18, 2003DR-1491-VADRHurricaneHurricane Isabel
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.

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