National ranking · FEMA OpenFEMA
States with the most major disaster declarations
U.S. states and territories ranked by FEMA Major Disaster (DR) declarations, the most severe federal designation, requiring individual and public assistance. California leads.
- California
- Most major disasters
- 19
- California major (DR)
- 360
- Major declarations nationwide
- 56
- States & territories
Top 12 states by FEMA Major Disaster declarations
DR-type declarations, the most severe federal disaster designation
- California
California
19 major declarations
- Alaska
Alaska
17 major declarations
- Tennessee
Tennessee
17 major declarations
- Kentucky
Kentucky
13 major declarations
- Washington
Washington
12 major declarations
- Oklahoma
Oklahoma
12 major declarations
- Kansas
Kansas
11 major declarations
- New York
New York
11 major declarations
- Mississippi
Mississippi
11 major declarations
- Missouri
Missouri
11 major declarations
- Florida
Florida
10 major declarations
- Nebraska
Nebraska
10 major declarations
What this shows California has the most FEMA Major Disaster declarations on record, the DR designation reserved for events needing full federal individual and public assistance.
The full ranking
Major (DR) declarations vs. total declarations, by state.
| # | State | Major (DR) | Total Declarations | Top Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California (CA) | 19 | 130 | Fire |
| 2 | Alaska (AK) | 17 | 27 | Fire |
| 3 | Tennessee (TN) | 17 | 26 | Severe Storm |
| 4 | Kentucky (KY) | 13 | 19 | Severe Storm |
| 5 | Washington (WA) | 12 | 94 | Fire |
| 6 | Oklahoma (OK) | 12 | 57 | Fire |
| 7 | Kansas (KS) | 11 | 22 | Fire |
| 8 | New York (NY) | 11 | 17 | Hurricane |
| 9 | Mississippi (MS) | 11 | 16 | Severe Storm |
| 10 | Missouri (MO) | 11 | 11 | Severe Storm |
| 11 | Florida (FL) | 10 | 29 | Hurricane |
| 12 | Nebraska (NE) | 10 | 14 | Severe Storm |
| 13 | Vermont (VT) | 10 | 13 | Flood |
| 14 | North Dakota (ND) | 10 | 12 | Severe Storm |
| 15 | West Virginia (WV) | 10 | 11 | Flood |
| 16 | Montana (MT) | 9 | 32 | Fire |
| 17 | South Dakota (SD) | 9 | 14 | Fire |
| 18 | Texas (TX) | 8 | 34 | Fire |
| 19 | Louisiana (LA) | 8 | 20 | Hurricane |
| 20 | Alabama (AL) | 8 | 9 | Severe Storm |
| 21 | Maine (ME) | 8 | 9 | Severe Storm |
| 22 | New Hampshire (NH) | 8 | 9 | Severe Storm |
| 23 | Arizona (AZ) | 7 | 36 | Fire |
| 24 | Georgia (GA) | 7 | 12 | Tropical Storm |
| 25 | Arkansas (AR) | 7 | 9 | Severe Storm |
| 26 | Minnesota (MN) | 7 | 8 | Flood |
| 27 | Iowa (IA) | 7 | 7 | Severe Storm |
| 28 | North Carolina (NC) | 6 | 16 | Fire |
| 29 | Virginia (VA) | 6 | 8 | Severe Storm |
| 30 | Oregon (OR) | 5 | 68 | Fire |
| 31 | New Mexico (NM) | 5 | 29 | Fire |
| 32 | South Carolina (SC) | 5 | 13 | Hurricane |
| 33 | Puerto Rico (PR) | 5 | 7 | Flood |
| 34 | Hawaii (HI) | 4 | 12 | Fire |
| 35 | New Jersey (NJ) | 4 | 6 | Hurricane |
| 36 | Rhode Island (RI) | 4 | 6 | Severe Storm |
| 37 | Illinois (IL) | 4 | 5 | Flood |
| 38 | Colorado (CO) | 3 | 25 | Fire |
| 39 | Idaho (ID) | 3 | 19 | Fire |
| 40 | Wyoming (WY) | 3 | 16 | Fire |
| 41 | Connecticut (CT) | 3 | 7 | Severe Storm |
| 42 | Michigan (MI) | 3 | 3 | Severe Ice Storm |
| 43 | Utah (UT) | 2 | 19 | Fire |
| 44 | Massachusetts (MA) | 2 | 4 | Hurricane |
| 45 | Indiana (IN) | 2 | 3 | Winter Storm |
| 46 | Wisconsin (WI) | 2 | 2 | Flood |
| 47 | Pennsylvania (PA) | 2 | 2 | Tropical Storm |
| 48 | American Samoa (AS) | 2 | 2 | Severe Storm |
| 49 | Delaware (DE) | 2 | 2 | Hurricane |
| 50 | Nevada (NV) | 1 | 31 | Fire |
| 51 | U.S. Virgin Islands (VI) | 1 | 4 | Tropical Storm |
| 52 | Northern Mariana Islands (MP) | 1 | 3 | Tropical Storm |
| 53 | Guam (GU) | 1 | 3 | Tropical Storm |
| 54 | Maryland (MD) | 1 | 2 | Winter Storm |
| 55 | Ohio (OH) | 1 | 1 | Tornado |
| 56 | District of Columbia (DC) | 0 | 2 | Other |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 Major Disaster (DR) declarations only; excludes Emergency (EM) and Fire Management (FM) designations.
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.