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County disaster-history profile

Data updated Aug 23, 2026 · Sources validated Aug 23, 2026 · Current conditions: Live Dashboard →

Watauga County, North Carolina disaster history

Explore FEMA administrative declarations and NOAA county-coded observed-event records, with coverage, patterns, and limitations kept separate.

Two official histories, kept separate

Administrative

FEMA declarations

Unique declarations
24
Coverage
1964–2026

Leading categories

  • Hurricane9
  • Flood5
  • Winter storm4

+3 more categories in full details

Full source details

Observed reports

NOAA events

Unique county-event records
335
Coverage
1996–2026

Leading categories

  • Flood147
  • High wind66
  • Hail65

+4 more categories in full details

Full source details
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Full source details and state comparisons

FEMA declarations and NOAA event reports remain in separate panels because they answer different questions.

Administrative records

FEMA declaration history

Unique federal disaster declarations that include a county designation. A declaration is a government action, not a complete census of physical events.

Unique FEMA declarations
24
County designation records
24

Coverage: Jan 1, 1964 – Aug 23, 2026

Record categories

  • Hurricane9
  • Flood5
  • Winter storm4
  • Biological2
  • Severe storm2
  • Tropical storm2

Same-source state comparison

This county
24
North Carolina county median
24

This county count matches the North Carolina county median for the same source and coverage period. Based on 100 county equivalents.

Observed-event reports

NOAA observed-event history

Distinct Storm Events records coded to this county. Forecast-zone and marine-zone reports are excluded from these county totals.

Unique NOAA county-event records
335

Coverage: Jan 1, 1996 – May 31, 2026

Record categories

  • Flood147
  • High wind66
  • Hail65
  • Severe storm40
  • Lightning7
  • Landslide6
  • Tornado4

Same-source state comparison

This county
335
North Carolina county median
323

This county count is 12 above the North Carolina county median for the same source and coverage period. Based on 100 county equivalents.

Year-by-year official records

Years appear newest first when at least one source has a record. FEMA administrative declarations and NOAA observed county-event records remain in separate columns and are never added or ranked together.

FEMA administrative records

Unique federal disaster declarations that include this county, grouped by the declaration record’s incident start year. A declaration is a government action, not a physical-event census.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · Coverage: Jan 1, 1964 – Aug 23, 2026

NOAA observed-event records

Distinct NOAA Storm Events records explicitly coded to this county, grouped by event start year. Forecast-zone and marine-zone records are excluded from county counts.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database · Coverage: Jan 1, 1996 – May 31, 2026

Annual FEMA unique declaration and NOAA county-event record counts, kept as separate source measures
YearUnique FEMA declarationsNOAA county-event records
202613
202505
2024218
2023015
2022121
2021113
2020315
2019110
2018120
2017011
201606
2015017
201405
2013224
2012011
2011031
2010012
2009112
2008012
200704
200607
200513
200427
200309
200204
200103
200001
199908
1998115
199707
199626
199510
199310
198910
197710
197310

When NOAA county-event records began

Monthly counts use only NOAA county-coded observed-event start dates. FEMA declaration dates are excluded.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database · Coverage: Jan 1, 1996 – May 31, 2026

Exact monthly observed-event record counts
MonthRecords
January17
February4
March18
April30
May61
June55
July45
August36
September21
October10
November29
December9

Compare with another county

Compare like-for-like official record counts. FEMA declarations and NOAA observed-event records remain separate.

Comparing Watauga County, North Carolina with Wake County, North Carolina

Unique FEMA declarations

FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · Jan 1, 1964 – Aug 23, 2026

Watauga County, North Carolina
24
Wake County, North Carolina
26

Unique NOAA county-event records

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database · Jan 1, 1996 – May 31, 2026

Watauga County, North Carolina
335
Wake County, North Carolina
1,335

Comparison updated to Wake County, North Carolina. FEMA: 24 versus 26. NOAA: 335 versus 1335.

Recent representative records by source

These bounded, newest-first lists make official identifiers inspectable. Aggregate totals above come from each validated corpus, not from counting only the records shown here.

FEMA representative declarations

Administrative declaration dates and incident periods from OpenFEMA.

  1. FEMA administrative declaration

    SEVERE WINTER STORM

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 3637
    Record type
    Winter storm
    Open official record

  2. FEMA administrative declaration

    HURRICANE HELENE

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 3617
    Record type
    Tropical storm
    Open official record

  3. FEMA administrative declaration

    TROPICAL STORM HELENE

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 4827
    Record type
    Tropical storm
    Open official record

  5. FEMA administrative declaration

    REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM FRED

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 4617
    Record type
    Hurricane
    Open official record

  6. FEMA administrative declaration

    HURRICANE ISAIAS

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 3534
    Record type
    Hurricane
    Open official record

  8. FEMA administrative declaration

    COVID-19 PANDEMIC

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 4487
    Record type
    Biological
    Open official record

  9. FEMA administrative declaration

    HURRICANE DORIAN

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 3423
    Record type
    Hurricane
    Open official record

  10. FEMA administrative declaration

    HURRICANE FLORENCE

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 3401
    Record type
    Hurricane
    Open official record

  11. FEMA administrative declaration

    SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, MUDSLIDES

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 4153
    Record type
    Flood
    Open official record

  12. FEMA administrative declaration

    SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 4146
    Record type
    Flood
    Open official record

  13. FEMA administrative declaration

    SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 1871
    Record type
    Severe storm
    Open official record

  14. FEMA administrative declaration

    HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 3222
    Record type
    Hurricane
    Open official record

  15. FEMA administrative declaration

    HURRICANE IVAN

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 1553
    Record type
    Hurricane
    Open official record

  16. FEMA administrative declaration

    TROPICAL STORM FRANCES

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 1546
    Record type
    Hurricane
    Open official record

  17. FEMA administrative declaration

    SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 1200
    Record type
    Severe storm
    Open official record

  18. FEMA administrative declaration

    WINTER STORM

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 1103
    Record type
    Winter storm
    Open official record

  19. FEMA administrative declaration

    BLIZZARD OF 96

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 1087
    Record type
    Winter storm
    Open official record

  20. FEMA administrative declaration

    SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, HIGH WINDS

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 1073
    Record type
    Flood
    Open official record

  21. FEMA administrative declaration

    SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 3110
    Record type
    Winter storm
    Open official record

  22. FEMA administrative declaration

    HURRICANE HUGO

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 844
    Record type
    Hurricane
    Open official record

  23. FEMA administrative declaration

    SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 542
    Record type
    Flood
    Open official record

  24. FEMA administrative declaration

    SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING

    Declaration date
    Incident period
    –
    Official source
    FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2
    Official ID
    FEMA disaster 394
    Record type
    Flood
    Open official record

NOAA representative observed events

County-coded observed-event types and dates from NOAA NCEI Storm Events.

Practical preparedness implications

These actions translate record categories into low-regret planning steps. They are not predictions and do not replace local emergency instructions.

  1. Priority 1

    Prepare for observed flood events

    Flood is the most frequently reported NOAA hazard type among 335 exact county-coded observed events in this profile.

    • Review household alerts, evacuation routes, and insurance coverage for this hazard.
    • Keep a documented communication and reunification plan that works during power or cellular outages.

    Evidence sections: NOAA observed events

  2. Priority 2

    Review declared hurricane history

    Hurricane is the most frequent hazard category among 24 unique exact-county FEMA declarations in this profile.

    • Review insurance, documentation, and recovery contacts relevant to this declaration category.
    • Learn which local and state assistance channels operate before any federal declaration is made.

    Evidence sections: FEMA declarations

  3. Priority 3

    Use May as a readiness checkpoint

    NOAA records place 61 observed county events in May, the profile's highest observed monthly count.

    • Before this historically high-count month, refresh supplies, medications, contact lists, and alert settings.
    • Recheck transportation and shelter options for people, pets, and accessibility needs.

    Evidence sections: NOAA observed events

  4. Priority 4

    Plan from both observed and declared history

    NOAA event reports describe observed local frequency, while FEMA declarations identify a narrower administrative record of incidents receiving federal declarations.

    • Do not treat the absence of a FEMA declaration as evidence that a damaging local event cannot occur.
    • After an incident, preserve photos, receipts, policy records, and official notices for local, state, insurance, and possible federal processes.

    Evidence sections: FEMA declarations and NOAA observed events

Methodology and profile limitations

A source-separated county history using exact OpenFEMA county designations and NOAA county-coded observed events.

Counting rules

  • FEMA counts one declaration per unique disasterNumber for exact county designations dated 1964 or later.
  • NOAA counts one unique EVENT_ID only when CZ_TYPE=C and the constructed state-plus-county FIPS matches exactly, from 1996 onward.
  • Statewide-only FEMA rows, NOAA forecast zones, and NOAA marine zones are excluded from county metrics.

Comparison rules

  • Each county is compared only with the median of the same source and metric across every county equivalent in its state.
  • The North Carolina baseline contains every compatible county equivalent, including zero-count counties if any.

Limitations

  • This atlas publishes source-separated historical records, not a probability of future loss.
  • Records can be revised by their issuing agencies; regeneration selects the newest official NOAA revision for every year.
  • Statewide-only FEMA declarations are disclosed but excluded from exact county metrics.
  • Observed history is not a forecast or modeled risk score.
  • FEMA declarations and NOAA event reports measure different phenomena and are never merged into one event total.

Sources, coverage, and limitations

Each official dataset retains its own meaning, coverage period, freshness, and limitations.

Profile generated:

FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Current for expected cadence
Coverage period
Jan 1, 1964 – Aug 23, 2026
Completeness
Complete for stated coverage and inclusion rules
Source updated
Retrieved by HazardNow
Expected update cadence
HazardNow refresh target: about weekly
Official dataset pageOpenFEMA API

Coverage notes

  • OpenFEMA v2 exact county designations from 1964 onward; disasterNumber is the unique declaration key.
  • Statewide-only, tribal, and other non-county designations are excluded from county metrics and medians.
  • Current Census county-equivalent FIPS define state comparison baselines; obsolete historical county codes are not reassigned.
  • County-level designation history is most consistently available from 1964 onward.
  • A declaration can designate multiple counties; each designation is a source record, not a separate physical event.

Limitations

  • Federal declarations are administrative actions and do not enumerate every damaging local incident.
  • Statewide-only and tribal designations are intentionally excluded from exact-county counts.
  • Federal declarations are administrative Stafford Act actions and do not capture every damaging local event.
  • Declaration counts should not be presented as forecasts or direct probabilities of future loss.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information

Current for expected cadence
Coverage period
Jan 1, 1996 – May 31, 2026
Completeness
Partial for stated coverage or inclusion rules
Source updated
Retrieved by HazardNow
Expected update cadence
HazardNow refresh target: about monthly after source publication
Official dataset pageOfficial bulk files

Coverage notes

  • NCEI Storm Events details files for every year from 1996 through the current available year.
  • Only exact county-coded CZ_TYPE=C records are counted; forecast-zone and marine-zone records are excluded and disclosed.
  • Current Census county-equivalent FIPS define state comparison baselines; obsolete historical county codes are not reassigned.
  • Every state summary and county profile uses this same selected-national-corpus coverage window; a state or county need not have an event on the final date.
  • 15 optional damage cells contained a bare K/M/B suffix; those amounts are retained as unknown/null and are never inferred as zero.
  • 1 record had an unrecognized CZ_TYPE and was excluded because it could not be assigned to an exact county geography.
  • The 2026 shard is preliminary; national coverage ends at the latest accepted county event anywhere in the selected official corpus.
  • Comparable all-event statistics begin in 1996; earlier reporting eras cover only a subset of event types.
  • County profiles count only exact county-coded CZ_TYPE=C records; forecast-zone and marine-zone records are excluded.
  • Finalized Storm Events records typically lag the event month by about 75 to 90 days.

Limitations

  • Storm Events reports are not a complete loss inventory and reporting practices vary over time.
  • Forecast-zone and marine-zone records are excluded because they cannot be assigned exactly to one county.
  • 15 optional archive damage cells contained only a K/M/B suffix, so their dollar amounts remain unknown/null rather than inferred.
  • 1 archive record with an unrecognized CZ_TYPE was excluded rather than attributed to a county.
  • The current-year file is preliminary through the latest event present in its selected official revision.
  • Storm Events is a report database; reporting practices and included event types change over time.
  • Damage estimates and narratives may be incomplete and should retain their source-level caveats.