Disaster Data / States / Washington D.C.
Washington D.C.: Federal Disaster Declarations
Washington D.C. has recorded 12 major disaster declarations since FY2000 (through FY2026), the federal government's fullest response to an event. Alongside those sit 8 emergency declarations and 0 fire management declarations, 20 in all. Its most common hazard is hurricane. It ranks #48 nationally by major disasters.
Totals: FY2000 to FY2026 · Page last rebuilt Oct 25, 2026 · the current in-progress fiscal year is not included in totals
Past 12 months
Recent declarations and aid so far
Washington D.C. has had 1 federal declaration in the past 12 months. The figures are what FEMA has reported to date and grow as recovery continues. It falls in a complete fiscal year and is counted in the totals above.
| Declaration | Declared | Households approved | Individual Assistance | Public Assistance obligated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EM-3643-DCEmergency · Other | Feb 20, 2026Incident period Jan 19 to Mar 14, 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.
Federal Public Assistance obligated
$984M has been obligated to Washington D.C. in Public Assistance since FY2000.
$33M followed major disasters other than COVID-19. $16M followed emergency declarations, which cover debris removal and emergency protective work only. $935M, or 95% of the total, was COVID-19, which every state and county in the country received.
Obligated is the committed share, not necessarily spent, and can be revised as projects close out. Totals are summed from funded localities, so a declaration administered entirely at state level may not appear here.
Most common hazards
- Hurricane 6
- Severe Storm 6
- Other 3
- Biological 2
- Snowstorm 2
- Earthquake 1
All declarations on record
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 state and 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.
DR = Major disaster (Stafford Act) · EM = Emergency declaration · FM = Fire management assistance
Showing 20 declarations
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 20, 2026 | EM-3643-DC | EM | Other | Sewer Line Collapse |
| Jan 11, 2021 | EM-3553-DC | EM | Other | 59Th Presidential Inauguration |
| Mar 29, 2020 | DR-4502-DC | DR | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3447-DC | EM | Biological | Covid-19 |
| Mar 4, 2016 | DR-4260-DC | DR | Snowstorm | Snowstorm |
| Dec 5, 2012 | DR-4096-DC | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| Oct 28, 2012 | EM-3352-DC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| Jul 31, 2012 | DR-4073-DC | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms |
| Nov 8, 2011 | DR-4044-DC | DR | Earthquake | Earthquake |
| Sep 28, 2011 | DR-4036-DC | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| Aug 28, 2011 | EM-3337-DC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| Mar 24, 2010 | DR-1890-DC | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms |
| Mar 3, 2010 | DR-1882-DC | DR | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm |
| Jan 13, 2009 | EM-3300-DC | EM | Other | 56Th Presidential Inauguration |
| Sep 7, 2005 | EM-3226-DC | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| Sep 20, 2003 | DR-1493-DC | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Isabel |
| Mar 14, 2003 | EM-3178-DC | EM | Severe Storm | Snow |
| Aug 16, 2001 | DR-1389-DC | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding And Mudslides |
| Aug 17, 2000 | DR-1338-DC | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Thunderstorms |
| Apr 10, 2000 | DR-1325-DC | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
Individual Assistance to households
FEMA Individual Assistance to households across Washington D.C., combined across the Housing Assistance owner and renter programs. Valid registrations are households that applied within a designated Individual Assistance area; approved figures are those FEMA found eligible under the Individuals and Households Program. Self-reported, drawn from NEMIS through OpenFEMA, and present only where Individual Assistance was designated.
| Assistance type | Approved amount |
|---|---|
| Repair and replacement | $403K |
| Rental assistance | $256K |
| Other needs | $7M |
Hazard mitigation funded
Federal Hazard Mitigation Assistance obligated across Washington D.C. to reduce future disaster losses, by program. Figures are federal share obligated, reported through OpenFEMA and not audited.
| Program | Projects | Federal share obligated |
|---|---|---|
| Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) | 37 | $14M |
| Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) | 7 | $6M |
| Legislative Pre-Disaster Mitigation (LPDM) | 1 | $1M |
| Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) | 6 | $336K |
Denied requests
No declaration requests from Washington D.C. were turned down in complete fiscal years through FY2026.
Declarations not attributed to a specific locality
1 declaration in Washington D.C. applied statewide, or to areas FEMA did not tie to a single county or equivalent, such as wildfire management zones. They are included in the state totals above but do not appear on any individual jurisdiction page.
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 13, 2009 | EM-3300-DC | EM | Other | 56Th Presidential Inauguration |
How these numbers are built
Every figure is drawn from FEMA's OpenFEMA datasets: the Disaster Declarations Summaries for declarations and the Declaration Denials dataset for turndowns, rebuilt automatically each week. A "declaration" is one unique combination of declaration type (DR / EM / FM), disaster number, and state, so a single disaster affecting five states counts as five declarations. Years are federal fiscal years (Oct 1 to Sep 30). Totals, ranks, and rates on this page cover complete fiscal years only. Declarations from the fiscal year still in progress are listed in each state's declaration tables and its recent-declarations panel, but are not counted in any total until the year is complete. Uses OpenFEMA data but is not endorsed by or affiliated with FEMA.