Disaster Data / States / Washington / Walla Walla County

County

Walla Walla County, Washington

Walla Walla 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: Walla Walla 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)
Apr 2020
Most recent
$9.3M
Federal PA obligated (top: roads and bridges)

The federal disaster record for Walla Walla County runs between 2001 and 2020, covering 9 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides in 2020. The hazards behind these declarations were most often flood, biological, and fire. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $9.3 million in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for roads and bridges.

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 53071
CDC / ATSDR

Social Vulnerability Index

2022 county-level SVI
80.8
overall percentile nationally

Approximately 80.8% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.

Socioeconomic status67.5
Household characteristics74.2
Racial and ethnic minority status66.3
Housing type and transportation88.6

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

FEMA

National Risk Index

December 2025
60.4
overall risk score
Relatively Low
Expected annual loss$20.3MRelatively Low
NRI social vulnerability46.0Relatively Moderate
Community resilience54.9Relatively 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
Roads and bridges(C)12$5,515,135
Emergency protective measures(B)22$3,388,660
Debris removal(A)7$205,846
Parks and recreation(G)2$76,265
Buildings and equipment(E)17$54,440
Water control facilities(D)1$52,200
Management costs(Z)4$36,523
All categories65$9,329,069

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 7-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 195 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 Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides 2020$5.2M
295 days to first federal obligation
Covid-19 Pandemic 2020$2.7M
334 days to first federal obligation
Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides 2017$1.1M
96 days to first federal obligation
Severe Winter Storm And Record And Near Record Snow 2009$216K
81 days to first federal obligation
Declared1 yr2 yr3 yr4 yr5 yr6 yr7 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.

62
valid registrations
51
households approved
$294,560
total IHP approved
Assistance typeApproved amount
Other needs$294,560

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.

$3,227,072
federal mitigation share
11
funded projects
19
properties mitigated
ProgramProjectsFederal share obligated
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP)9$3,100,808
Pre-Disaster Mitigation(PDM)1$91,954
Flood Mitigation Assistance(FMA)1$34,310

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.

2
state declarations with local storm evidence
38
statewide on record

Archive coverage for Washington: 2013-present structured Governor proclamation archive; 2000-2012 unavailable

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

HazardDateFEMA declarationType
FloodApr 23, 2020DR-4539-WADR
BiologicalMar 22, 2020DR-4481-WADR
BiologicalMar 13, 2020EM-3427-WAEM
FloodApr 21, 2017DR-4309-WADR
FireJul 21, 2015FM-5090-WAFM
Severe StormMar 2, 2009DR-1825-WADR
FireAug 22, 2006FM-2668-WAFM
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
Apr 23, 2020DR-4539-WADRFloodSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides
Mar 22, 2020DR-4481-WADRBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
Mar 13, 2020EM-3427-WAEMBiologicalCovid-19
Apr 21, 2017DR-4309-WADRFloodSevere Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides
Jul 21, 2015FM-5090-WAFMFireBlue Creek Fire
Mar 2, 2009DR-1825-WADRSevere StormSevere Winter Storm And Record And Near Record Snow
Aug 22, 2006FM-2668-WAFMFireColumbia Fire Complex
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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