Fact Sheet Fact Sheet 
Disaster Declarations 


The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5207 (the Stafford Act) 
§401 states in part that: "All requests for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists shall be made 
by the governor of the affected state." A state also includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 
Guam,American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.The Marshall Islands and 
the Federated States of Micronesia are also eligible to request a declaration and receive assistance. 

Preliminary Disaster Assessment 

The governor’s request is made through the applicable 
FEMA Regional Office. State and federal officials 
conduct a joint federal, state, and local Preliminary 
Damage Assessment (PDA) to determine the extent 
of the disaster and its impact on individuals and 
public facilities.This information is included in the 
governor’s request to show that the disaster is of 
such severity and magnitude that effective response 
is beyond the capabilities of the state and the local 
governments and that supplemental federal assistance is 
necessary. Normally, the PDA is completed prior to the 
submission of the governor’s request. However, when 
an obviously severe or catastrophic event occurs, the 
governor’s request may be submitted prior to the PDA. 

State Resources Overwhelmed 

As part of the request, the Governor must take 
appropriate action under State law and direct execution 
of the State’s emergency plan. The Governor shall 
furnish information on the nature and amount of 
state and local resources that have been or will be 
committed to alleviating the results of the disaster, 
provide an estimate of the amount and severity of 
damage and the impact on the private and public 
sectors, and provide an estimate of the type and 
amount of assistance needed under the Stafford Act. 

In addition, the governor must certify that, for the 
current disaster, state and local government obligations 
and expenditures (of which state commitments must 
be a significant proportion) will comply with all 
applicable cost-sharing requirements. 

Declaration Types 

There are two types of disaster declarations provided 
for in the Stafford Act: Emergency Declarations and 
Major Disaster Declarations. Both declaration types 
authorize the President to provide supplemental federal 
disaster assistance. However, the event related to the 
disaster declaration and type and amount of assistance 
differ. 

• 
Emergency Declarations: An Emergency 
Declaration can be declared for any occasion or 
instance when the President determines federal 
assistance is needed. Emergency Declarations 
supplement State and local efforts in providing 
emergency services, such as the protection of lives, 
property, public health, and safety, or to lessen 
or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of 
the United States.The total amount of assistance 
provided for a single emergency may not exceed $5 
million. If this amount is exceeded, the President 
shall report to Congress. 
“FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, 
sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.” 

Diaster Declarations Diaster Declarations 
Fact Sheet 


•Individual Assistance 
Assistancetoindividualsandhouseholds•Public Assistance 
Assistancetostateandlocalgovernmentsandcertainprivatenonprofitorganizationsforemergencyworkandtherepairorreplacementofdisaster-damagedfacilities•Hazard Mitigation Assistance 
Assistancetostateandlocalgovernmentsandcertainprivatenonprofitorganizationsforactionstakentopreventorreducelongtermrisktolifeanpropertyfromnaturalhazards.
• 
Major Declaration:The President can declare a 
Major Disaster Declaration for any natural event, 
including any hurricane, tornado, storm, high 
water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, 
earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, 
snowstorm, or drought, or, regardless of cause, 
fire, flood, or explosion, that the President believes 
has caused damage of such severity that it is 
beyond the combined capabilities of state and 
local governments to respond. A major disaster 
declaration provides a wide range of federal 
assistance programs for individuals and public 
infrastructure, including funds for both emergency 
and permanent work. 
Assistance Available for Major Declarations 

Not all programs, however, are activated for every 
disaster.The determination of which programs are 
authorized is based the types of assistance specified 
in the governor’s request and on the needs identified 
during joint PDA and any subsequent PDAs 

FEMADisaster Assistance 
Programs 

“FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, 
sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.”