Quick plot of USA county-level disaster data from FEMA
The above indicates the percentage of US counties under a Major Disaster declaration, by year (1979-2016). FEMA was created in 1977, following the signing of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, PL 93-288.
The above shows a linear regression, indicating the change over time of the percentage of US counties under a Major Disaster declaration, with the The increase is due to a several factors: the amending of the Disaster Relief Act in 1988, with the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, PL 100-707; the transition of the agency to prioritize natural disasters (as opposed to nuclear disasters) in the 1990s; the maturation of the political utility of disaster response (1990s-present); as well as an increase in requests from states responding to climate-change driven disaster, particularly those in the southeast (hurricanes and floods) and west (wildfires).