Disaster Data / States / Virginia / Nelson County

County

Nelson County, Virginia

Nelson County recorded 14 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 10 major disasters, 3 emergencies, and 1 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is hurricane.

Highlighted: Nelson County, VA

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

14
Declarations since FY2000
10
Major disasters (DR)
3
Emergencies (EM)
1
Fire management (FM)
Jan 2026
Most recent
$31K
Federal PA obligated (top: emergency protective measures)

The federal disaster record for Nelson County runs between 2000 and 2024, covering 14 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Helene in 2024. The hazards behind these declarations were most often hurricane, severe storm, and snowstorm. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated $30,566 in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for emergency protective measures.

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 51125
CDC / ATSDR

Social Vulnerability Index

2022 county-level SVI
25.4
overall percentile nationally

Approximately 25.4% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.

Socioeconomic status36.7
Household characteristics17.0
Racial and ethnic minority status52.0
Housing type and transportation20.3

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

FEMA

National Risk Index

December 2025
34.1
overall risk score
Very Low
Expected annual loss$8.9MVery Low
NRI social vulnerability67.5Relatively High
Community resilience54.6Relatively 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
Emergency protective measures(B)5$14,571
Parks and recreation(G)2$8,816
Utilities(F)1$6,133
Management costs(Z)1$858
Buildings and equipment(E)1$188
All categories10$30,566

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 78 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.

Tropical Storm Helene 2024$14K
206 days to first federal obligation
Severe Storms And Straight-Line Winds 2012$5K
59 days to first federal obligation
Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm 2010$8K
98 days to first federal obligation
Hurricane Isabel 2003$4K
57 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.

32
valid registrations
17
households approved
$78,619
total IHP approved
Assistance typeApproved amount
Repair and replacement$12,632
Rental assistance$2,004
Other needs$63,983

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.

$471,226
federal mitigation share
5
funded projects
ProgramProjectsFederal share obligated
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP)3$289,153
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities(BRIC)1$137,073
Pre-Disaster Mitigation(PDM)1$45,000

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.

10
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, FloodNot reported
Aug 6, 2024EO-34Executive Order 34 (2024) Declaration of a State of Emergency Due to Hurricane/Tropical Storm DebbyFlash Flood, FloodNot reported
Jun 8, 2018EO-10Executive Order 10 (2018) Declaration Of A State Of Emergency For The Commonwealth Of Virginia Due To Severe Weather And FloodingThunderstorm WindNot reported
Sep 7, 2017EO-72Executive Order 72 (2017) Declaration of a State of Emergency for the Commonwealth of Virginia Due To Hurricane Irma and in Support of States Affected by Hurricane IrmaThunderstorm WindNot reported
Jun 24, 2016EO-56Executive Order 56 (2016) Declaration of a State of Emergency for the Commonwealth of Virginia Due to Severe FloodingFlash 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$1,000
May 18, 2011EO-33Executive Order 33 (2011) Declaration of a State of Emergency for Pulaski County and the Commonwealth of Virginia due to Significant Damage and Flooding caused by Tornadoes and Severe Thunderstorms with Damaging Winds and Heavy RainsHailNot 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.Flash FloodNot reported
Nov 20, 2003EO-59Executive Order 59 (2003) Declaration of a State of Emergency for Localities n Southwest Virginia Due to the Affects of Significant Flooding.Flash FloodNot reported
Sep 16, 2003EO-56Executive Order 56 (2003) Declaration of a State of Emergency for the Commonwealth of Virginia Due to the Threat of Significant Flooding and Wind Damage Caused by Hurricane Isabel.Flash Flood$70,000

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

HazardDateFEMA declarationType
Tropical StormOct 1, 2024DR-4831-VADR
Severe StormMar 11, 2022DR-4644-VADR
BiologicalApr 2, 2020DR-4512-VADR
BiologicalMar 13, 2020EM-3448-VAEM
HurricaneOct 15, 2018DR-4401-VADR
HurricaneNov 26, 2012DR-4092-VADR
HurricaneOct 29, 2012EM-3359-VAEM
Severe StormJul 27, 2012DR-4072-VADR
SnowstormApr 27, 2010DR-1905-VADR
SnowstormFeb 16, 2010DR-1874-VADR
HurricaneSep 12, 2005EM-3240-VAEM
HurricaneSep 18, 2003DR-1491-VADR
FireNov 20, 2001FM-2394-VAFM
Severe StormFeb 28, 2000DR-1318-VADR

Every declaration on record

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

Showing 14 declarations

DateNumberTypeHazardTitle
Oct 1, 2024DR-4831-VADRTropical StormTropical Storm Helene
Mar 11, 2022DR-4644-VADRSevere StormSevere Winter Storm And Snowstorm
Apr 2, 2020DR-4512-VADRBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
Mar 13, 2020EM-3448-VAEMBiologicalCovid-19
Oct 15, 2018DR-4401-VADRHurricaneHurricane Florence
Nov 26, 2012DR-4092-VADRHurricaneHurricane Sandy
Oct 29, 2012EM-3359-VAEMHurricaneHurricane Sandy
Jul 27, 2012DR-4072-VADRSevere StormSevere Storms And Straight-Line Winds
Apr 27, 2010DR-1905-VADRSnowstormSevere Winter Storms And Snowstorms
Feb 16, 2010DR-1874-VADRSnowstormSevere Winter Storm And Snowstorm
Sep 12, 2005EM-3240-VAEMHurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
Sep 18, 2003DR-1491-VADRHurricaneHurricane Isabel
Nov 20, 2001FM-2394-VAFMFireVa - Heard Mountain Fire Complex - 11/20/2001
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