Disaster Data / States / Washington / Whatcom County
CountyWhatcom County recorded 14 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 11 major disasters, 2 emergencies, and 1 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is severe storm.
Highlighted: Whatcom County, WA
Totals: FY2000–FY2025 · Page last rebuilt Sep 12, 2026 · the current in-progress fiscal year is not included in totals
The federal disaster record for Whatcom County runs between 2001 and 2022, covering 14 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides in 2022. The hazards behind these declarations were most often severe storm, flood, and fire. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $37.1 million in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for roads and bridges.
Historical declarations show what has happened here. These national datasets add context about underlying natural-hazard risk and community vulnerability.
Approximately 50.0% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.
Higher percentiles indicate greater relative social vulnerability within the CDC SVI framework. CDC SVI documentation
The NRI combines expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience to describe relative natural-hazard risk. FEMA NRI documentation
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.
| Category | Projects | Federal share obligated |
|---|---|---|
| Roads and bridges(C) | 108 | $12,155,624 |
| Water control facilities(D) | 22 | $8,909,807 |
| Emergency protective measures(B) | 113 | $6,827,464 |
| Debris removal(A) | 51 | $3,388,797 |
| Utilities(F) | 48 | $2,245,676 |
| Parks and recreation(G) | 38 | $1,724,499 |
| Buildings and equipment(E) | 71 | $1,665,746 |
| Management costs(Z) | 22 | $184,038 |
| All categories | 473 | $37,101,651 |
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 10-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 129 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.
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.
| Assistance type | Approved amount |
|---|---|
| Repair and replacement | $5,758,519 |
| Rental assistance | $2,686,823 |
| Other needs | $3,554,505 |
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.
| Program | Projects | Federal share obligated |
|---|---|---|
| Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP) | 27 | $28,900,859 |
| Pre-Disaster Mitigation(PDM) | 3 | $2,106,701 |
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.
Archive coverage for Washington: 2013-present structured Governor proclamation archive; 2000-2012 unavailable
| Signed | Order | Declaration | Hazards reported here | Reported damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 15, 2021 | 21-18 | Severe Weather Damage | Heavy Rain | $75,000 |
Source: state executive order archives collected by DisasterData Plus, joined to NOAA Storm Events. See the Plus overview for per-state coverage and method.
Every local hazard mitigation plan must document previous occurrences of each hazard. Here is that record for Whatcom County, sourced to OpenFEMA and refreshed weekly. Copy it straight into your plan.
| Hazard | Date | FEMA declaration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 5, 2022 | DR-4635-WA | DR |
| Flood | Apr 23, 2020 | DR-4539-WA | DR |
| Biological | Mar 22, 2020 | DR-4481-WA | DR |
| Biological | Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3427-WA | EM |
| Severe Storm | Mar 4, 2019 | DR-4418-WA | DR |
| Flood | Apr 21, 2017 | DR-4309-WA | DR |
| Fire | Oct 20, 2015 | DR-4243-WA | DR |
| Severe Storm | Oct 15, 2015 | DR-4242-WA | DR |
| Fire | Aug 24, 2015 | FM-5109-WA | FM |
| Severe Storm | Mar 2, 2009 | DR-1825-WA | DR |
| Flood | Jan 30, 2009 | DR-1817-WA | DR |
| Coastal Storm | Sep 7, 2005 | EM-3227-WA | EM |
| Severe Storm | Nov 7, 2003 | DR-1499-WA | DR |
| Earthquake | Mar 1, 2001 | DR-1361-WA | DR |
DR = Major disaster (Stafford Act) · EM = Emergency declaration · FM = Fire management assistance
Showing 14 declarations
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 5, 2022 | DR-4635-WA | DR | Flood | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides |
| Apr 23, 2020 | DR-4539-WA | DR | Flood | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides |
| Mar 22, 2020 | DR-4481-WA | DR | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3427-WA | EM | Biological | Covid-19 |
| Mar 4, 2019 | DR-4418-WA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides, Tornado |
| Apr 21, 2017 | DR-4309-WA | DR | Flood | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides |
| Oct 20, 2015 | DR-4243-WA | DR | Fire | Wildfires And Mudslides |
| Oct 15, 2015 | DR-4242-WA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Windstorm |
| Aug 24, 2015 | FM-5109-WA | FM | Fire | Goodell Fire |
| Mar 2, 2009 | DR-1825-WA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm And Record And Near Record Snow |
| Jan 30, 2009 | DR-1817-WA | DR | Flood | Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, And Flooding |
| Sep 7, 2005 | EM-3227-WA | EM | Coastal Storm | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| Nov 7, 2003 | DR-1499-WA | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Mar 1, 2001 | DR-1361-WA | DR | Earthquake | Earthquake |
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.
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.