FEMA disaster type · OpenFEMA declarations
Earthquake disasters in the United States
FEMA disaster declarations classified as "Earthquake" from 2023 to 2023 - which states are hit most often and how the count has changed over time.
- 1
- FEMA declarations
- 1
- States affected
- 2023
- Earliest year
- 2023
- Latest year
How common are Earthquake disasters in the U.S.?
FEMA has issued 1 federal disaster declarations classified as earthquake between 2023 and 2023, affecting 1 states and territories. Each declaration represents a formal federal recognition that an event exceeded state and local response capacity, unlocking Public Assistance, Individual Assistance, or Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding depending on the declaration class (DR, EM, or FM). Raw declaration counts therefore measure the federal response footprint, which is a lagging and thresholded indicator: smaller events handled entirely at the state level never appear, and declaration thresholds have been recalibrated over the dataset's multi-decade history.
This disaster type's footprint is thin and scattered across the map. The three states with the most earthquake declarations on record are CA (1 declarations), consistent with how narrowly this hazard type is geographically concentrated.
With so few declarations on record, the year-by-year pattern is necessarily sparse. Trends over the 0+ year history reflect how infrequently this disaster type crosses the federal declaration threshold at all.
How to use this history for planning
For planning and preparedness purposes, combine this federal declaration history with local hazard maps, FEMA National Risk Index county scores, and insurance-industry loss data, which together give a more complete picture than declarations alone.
Declarations by State
| # | State | Declarations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CA | 1 |
Declarations by Year
| Year | Declarations |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 |
Recent Earthquake Declarations
| DR# | Title | State | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4692 | EARTHQUAKE | CA | DR | 2023-03-08 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many earthquake disasters has the US had?
Which states have the most earthquake disasters?
What does a FEMA earthquake declaration mean?
How far back does earthquake disaster data go?
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 For informational purposes only
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on FEMA federal disaster data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.