Disaster Data / States / Washington / Benton County

County

Benton County, Washington

Benton County recorded 9 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 5 major disasters, 2 emergencies, and 2 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is flood.

Highlighted: Benton County, WA

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

9
Declarations since FY2000
5
Major disasters (DR)
2
Emergencies (EM)
2
Fire management (FM)
Dec 2025
Most recent
$2.2M
Federal PA obligated (top: emergency protective measures)

The federal disaster record for Benton County runs between 2001 and 2020, covering 9 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020. The hazards behind these declarations were most often flood, biological, and fire. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $2.2 million 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 53005
CDC / ATSDR

Social Vulnerability Index

2022 county-level SVI
64.0
overall percentile nationally

Approximately 64.0% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.

Socioeconomic status42.3
Household characteristics84.4
Racial and ethnic minority status69.9
Housing type and transportation61.6

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

FEMA

National Risk Index

December 2025
87.1
overall risk score
Relatively Moderate
Expected annual loss$69.8MRelatively Moderate
NRI social vulnerability30.3Relatively Low
Community resilience58.6Relatively 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)9$1,284,166
Roads and bridges(C)9$882,820
Buildings and equipment(E)1$14,528
Management costs(Z)1$4,093
All categories20$2,185,607

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 4-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 120 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.

Covid-19 Pandemic 2020$361K
227 days to first federal obligation
Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides 2017$1.8M
105 days to first federal obligation
Severe Winter Storm And Record And Near Record Snow 2009$68K
120 days to first federal obligation
Declared1 yr2 yr3 yr4 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.

399
valid registrations
319
households approved
$1,814,049
total IHP approved
Assistance typeApproved amount
Repair and replacement$28,896
Rental assistance$1,096
Other needs$1,784,057

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.

$360,491
federal mitigation share
5
funded projects
ProgramProjectsFederal share obligated
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP)5$360,491

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

HazardDateFEMA declarationType
BiologicalMar 22, 2020DR-4481-WADR
BiologicalMar 13, 2020EM-3427-WAEM
FloodApr 21, 2017DR-4309-WADR
FireAug 1, 2016FM-5142-WAFM
FireAug 22, 2009FM-2827-WAFM
Severe StormMar 2, 2009DR-1825-WADR
FloodJan 30, 2009DR-1817-WADR
Coastal StormSep 7, 2005EM-3227-WAEM
EarthquakeMar 1, 2001DR-1361-WADR

Every declaration on record

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

Showing 9 declarations

DateNumberTypeHazardTitle
Mar 22, 2020DR-4481-WADRBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
Mar 13, 2020EM-3427-WAEMBiologicalCovid-19
Apr 21, 2017DR-4309-WADRFloodSevere Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides
Aug 1, 2016FM-5142-WAFMFireSouth Ward Gap Fire
Aug 22, 2009FM-2827-WAFMFireDry Creek Fire Complex
Mar 2, 2009DR-1825-WADRSevere StormSevere Winter Storm And Record And Near Record Snow
Jan 30, 2009DR-1817-WADRFloodSevere Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, And Flooding
Sep 7, 2005EM-3227-WAEMCoastal StormHurricane Katrina Evacuation
Mar 1, 2001DR-1361-WADREarthquakeEarthquake
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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 Washington'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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