Last updated:
For storm-driven trades — tree services, contractors, roofers, restoration crews —
federal disaster declarations are a map of where the work happens. The table below counts every
FEMA declaration for each state over the last decade: major disasters (DR, the
full-assistance declarations), emergencies (EM), and fire management
declarations (FM), with each declaration counted once per state no matter how many counties it
covered.
The most weather-declared states since 2016: California (32), Alaska (23), Mississippi (23), Tennessee (23), Oklahoma (21). The least: District of Columbia (1), Nevada (3), Colorado (3), Wyoming (4), Utah (4).
Federal disaster declarations by state, 2016–2026
| State | Major disasters (DR) | …weather-related* | Emergencies (EM) | Fire management (FM) | Most common incident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 17 | 15 | 7 | 0 | Severe Storm |
| Alaska | 24 | 23 | 2 | 9 | Severe Storm |
| Arizona | 12 | 10 | 1 | 28 | Severe Storm |
| Arkansas | 15 | 14 | 5 | 1 | Severe Storm |
| California | 33 | 32 | 10 | 110 | Severe Storm |
| Colorado | 4 | 3 | 1 | 21 | Fire |
| Connecticut | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | Severe Storm |
| Delaware | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Hurricane |
| District of Columbia | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | Snowstorm |
| Florida | 19 | 17 | 23 | 10 | Hurricane |
| Georgia | 13 | 12 | 8 | 4 | Hurricane |
| Hawaii | 11 | 10 | 5 | 10 | Flood |
| Idaho | 11 | 10 | 1 | 9 | Flood |
| Illinois | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | Flood |
| Indiana | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | Flood |
| Iowa | 16 | 15 | 2 | 0 | Severe Storm |
| Kansas | 20 | 19 | 5 | 12 | Severe Storm |
| Kentucky | 20 | 19 | 5 | 2 | Severe Storm |
| Louisiana | 17 | 16 | 18 | 4 | Hurricane |
| Maine | 11 | 10 | 3 | 0 | Severe Storm |
| Maryland | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | Flood |
| Massachusetts | 6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | Snowstorm |
| Michigan | 8 | 7 | 3 | 0 | Flood |
| Minnesota | 11 | 10 | 3 | 1 | Flood |
| Mississippi | 24 | 23 | 9 | 0 | Severe Storm |
| Missouri | 19 | 18 | 2 | 0 | Severe Storm |
| Montana | 19 | 18 | 3 | 23 | Flood |
| Nebraska | 19 | 18 | 5 | 4 | Severe Storm |
| Nevada | 4 | 3 | 1 | 33 | Severe Storm |
| New Hampshire | 15 | 14 | 1 | 1 | Severe Storm |
| New Jersey | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | Severe Storm |
| New Mexico | 8 | 7 | 13 | 22 | Flood |
| New York | 15 | 14 | 8 | 1 | Flood |
| North Carolina | 13 | 12 | 9 | 7 | Hurricane |
| North Dakota | 14 | 13 | 2 | 2 | Severe Storm |
| Ohio | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Tornado |
| Oklahoma | 22 | 21 | 18 | 45 | Severe Storm |
| Oregon | 14 | 13 | 2 | 62 | Severe Storm |
| Pennsylvania | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | Tropical Storm |
| Rhode Island | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | Severe Storm |
| South Carolina | 12 | 11 | 10 | 4 | Hurricane |
| South Dakota | 17 | 16 | 4 | 5 | Severe Storm |
| Tennessee | 24 | 23 | 6 | 4 | Severe Storm |
| Texas | 17 | 16 | 6 | 28 | Flood |
| Utah | 5 | 4 | 1 | 23 | Flood |
| Vermont | 15 | 14 | 4 | 0 | Severe Storm |
| Virginia | 11 | 10 | 4 | 0 | Severe Storm |
| Washington | 18 | 17 | 4 | 59 | Flood |
| West Virginia | 17 | 16 | 2 | 0 | Flood |
| Wisconsin | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | Flood |
| Wyoming | 5 | 4 | 1 | 11 | Flood |
*Weather-related excludes FEMA’s “Biological” incident type — chiefly the
2020 COVID-19 declarations, which reached every state and would otherwise blur the storm
geography. Where COVID would have been a state’s “most common incident,” we show
its most common weather incident instead.
What a declaration means for a storm-work business
- Severe storms dominate. Of the weather-related major disasters since 2016,
severe storms are the most common incident nationally, ahead of floods and hurricanes — the
bread-and-butter events for tree and debris work. - Some licensing has an emergency valve. Louisiana’s arborist law opens an
emergency temporary license after a declaration:
an out-of-state license or ISA certification plus insurance, applied for within 90 days. - Some rules bite hardest exactly then.
North Dakota and
Wyoming require state-fund workers’ comp to be
in place before employees begin working — including the seasonal and occasional help
a storm cleanup runs on — and Washington’s
workers’-comp reciprocity with Montana and Nevada excludes construction work outright. - Chasing storms across state lines is a licensing event. Every state guide in
our arborist license index covers whether an out-of-state
credential carries, and our landscaping and
HVAC guides do the same for those trades.
Frequently asked questions
Which state has the most federal disaster declarations?
Counting weather-related major disaster declarations from January 2016 through August 2026, California leads, followed by Alaska, Mississippi, and Tennessee. California also dwarfs every other state in fire management declarations, with 110 over the period.
What do the declaration types mean?
A major disaster declaration (DR) is the big one — it unlocks the full range of federal assistance after events like hurricanes, floods, and severe storms. An emergency declaration (EM) provides more limited, immediate assistance. A fire management declaration (FM) helps states fight specific wildfires. One declaration can cover many counties; we count each declaration once per state.
Why does the weather-related column matter?
Every state received a major disaster declaration for COVID-19 in 2020 (FEMA’s ‘Biological’ incident type). Including those makes every state look similar; excluding them shows the actual storm, flood, hurricane, and fire geography that drives demand for tree services, contractors, and restoration work.
Do disaster declarations change licensing rules?
In some states, yes. Louisiana’s arborist law includes an emergency temporary license triggered by a declaration — an out-of-state license or ISA certification plus insurance, applied for within 90 days. Other states’ rules cut the opposite way: North Dakota and Wyoming both require state-fund workers’ compensation coverage to be in place before storm crews begin working, with no private-market alternative.
Sources
- FEMA — OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), retrieved August 26, 2026 —
dataset page and
API documentation. FEMA and the federal
government cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency’s website(s). - Louisiana emergency temporary arborist license, North Dakota/Wyoming workers’ comp rules:
see the sources tables on the linked state pages — each cites the issuing agency or statute.