Disaster Data / States / Wisconsin / Buffalo County
CountyBuffalo County recorded 6 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 4 major disasters, 2 emergencies, and 0 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is severe storm.
Highlighted: Buffalo County, WI
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 Buffalo County runs between 2001 and 2020, covering 6 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020. The hazards behind these declarations were most often severe storm, biological, and flood. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $1.5 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 5.9% 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) | 98 | $1,209,606 |
| Emergency protective measures(B) | 11 | $119,618 |
| Debris removal(A) | 10 | $112,816 |
| Management costs(Z) | 11 | $41,235 |
| Water control facilities(D) | 3 | $21,575 |
| Utilities(F) | 3 | $14,312 |
| Parks and recreation(G) | 2 | $11,267 |
| Buildings and equipment(E) | 1 | $750 |
| All categories | 139 | $1,531,179 |
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 6-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.
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 |
|---|---|
| Other needs | $14,212 |
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) | 1 | $152,407 |
| Pre-Disaster Mitigation(PDM) | 2 | $75,000 |
| Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities(BRIC) | 1 | $29,464 |
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 Wisconsin: 2019-present structured Governor archive; 2000-2018 not covered; early PDFs may require OCR
| Signed | Order | Declaration | Hazards reported here | Reported damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 2026 | 289 | Gov. Evers Executive Order #289: Declaring a State of Emergency in Response to Flooding and Severe Weather Impacts | Hail, Tornado | $1,003,000 |
| Apr 18, 2023 | 194 | Gov. Evers Executive Order #194: Relating to a Proclamation Declaring a State of Emergency in Response to Widespread Flooding | Flood | Not reported |
| Jul 29, 2021 | 128 | Gov. Evers Executive Order 128: Relating to a Proclamation Declaring a State of Emergency Due to Severe Weather | Thunderstorm Wind | $2,000 |
| Sep 25, 2019 | 47 | Executive Order 47, Relating to a Proclamation Declaring a State of Emergency Due to Severe Weather and Flooding | Thunderstorm Wind | $4,000 |
| Mar 15, 2019 | 16 | Executive Order 16, Relating to Declaring a State of Emergency in Response to Widespread Flooding | Flood | Not reported |
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 Buffalo County, sourced to OpenFEMA and refreshed weekly. Copy it straight into your plan.
| Hazard | Date | FEMA declaration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological | Apr 4, 2020 | DR-4520-WI | DR |
| Biological | Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3454-WI | EM |
| Severe Storm | Oct 7, 2017 | DR-4343-WI | DR |
| Severe Storm | Oct 21, 2010 | DR-1944-WI | DR |
| Hurricane | Sep 13, 2005 | EM-3249-WI | EM |
| Flood | May 11, 2001 | DR-1369-WI | DR |
DR = Major disaster (Stafford Act) · EM = Emergency declaration · FM = Fire management assistance
Showing 6 declarations
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 2020 | DR-4520-WI | DR | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3454-WI | EM | Biological | Covid-19 |
| Oct 7, 2017 | DR-4343-WI | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mud |
| Oct 21, 2010 | DR-1944-WI | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Sep 13, 2005 | EM-3249-WI | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| May 11, 2001 | DR-1369-WI | DR | Flood | Flooding, Severe Storms And Tornadoes |
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 Wisconsin'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.