# FEMA Disaster Scraper - US Declarations & Assistance (`thirdwatch/fema-disaster-scraper`) Actor

Export FEMA disaster declarations with states, incident types, designated areas, dates, program flags, regions, and official disaster links. Built for research, diligence, and market intelligence. No login, cookies, or API keys — clean JSON output and pay-per-result pricing.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/thirdwatch/fema-disaster-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Thirdwatch](https://apify.com/thirdwatch) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Education
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## FEMA Disaster Scraper

> Export official U.S. disaster declarations, affected areas, incident dates, and assistance-program flags from OpenFEMA.

### What you get

Collect current or historical FEMA declaration records as clean Apify dataset rows. Filter by state or territory, incident type, declaration type, and declaration date. Results include the disaster number, designated area, incident window, FEMA region, FIPS codes, and whether individual assistance, public assistance, or hazard mitigation programs were designated.

### Output fields

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `id`, `fema_declaration`, `disaster_number` | OpenFEMA and declaration identifiers |
| `state`, `designated_area`, `region` | Affected geography |
| `declaration_type`, `declaration_date`, `fiscal_year` | Declaration metadata |
| `incident_type`, `title` | Incident classification and official title |
| `incident_begin_date`, `incident_end_date` | Incident window |
| `individual_assistance`, `public_assistance`, `hazard_mitigation` | Program flags |
| `place_code`, `fips_state_code`, `fips_county_code` | Geographic codes |
| `last_refresh`, `source_url`, `source` | Freshness and attribution |

### Example output

```json
{"fema_declaration":"DR-4890-TX","state":"TX","incident_type":"Flood","designated_area":"Example County","public_assistance":true}
```

### Input parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `states` | No | State or territory codes such as TX, CA, FL, or PR |
| `incidentTypes` | No | FEMA labels such as Flood, Hurricane, or Fire |
| `declarationTypes` | No | Codes such as DR, EM, or FM |
| `fromDate` | No | Earliest declaration date |
| `toDate` | No | Latest declaration date |
| `maxResults` | No | Maximum records; defaults to 10 |

### Use cases

- Emergency-management teams can monitor new declarations by state.
- Insurers can enrich catastrophe-response and exposure workflows.
- Researchers can build historical disaster and assistance datasets.
- Local organizations can track programs designated for their area.

### Limitations

This Actor reports declaration summaries, not live warnings, forecasts, damage estimates, grant awards, or individual eligibility. FEMA controls classifications, refresh timing, corrections, and geographic coverage. One disaster can produce many rows because declarations are recorded by designated area. Always follow official FEMA guidance for emergency decisions.

### Compared to alternatives

The Actor turns OpenFEMA's OData filtering into a small Apify input form, then emits automation-ready rows with official disaster links. It is more focused than broad government-data tools and easier to schedule than hand-building encoded `$filter`, `$top`, and `$skip` requests.

### FAQ

#### Does this contain every U.S. disaster?

It contains FEMA declaration summaries available in the official dataset, which reaches back to 1953. Undeclared events are outside its scope.

#### Can I monitor one state?

Yes. Save a Task with one state code and a recent `fromDate`, then schedule it.

Explore [FEMA Disaster Scraper on thirdwatch.dev](https://thirdwatch.dev/scrapers/fema-disaster-scraper). Related Actors: [Google News Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/google-news-scraper), [GDELT News Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/gdelt-news-scraper), and [Google Search Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/google-search-scraper).

Last verified: 2026-07

# Actor input Schema

## `states` (type: `array`):

Optional two-letter codes such as TX, CA, FL, or PR.

## `incidentTypes` (type: `array`):

Optional FEMA incident labels such as Flood, Hurricane, Fire, or Severe Storm.

## `declarationTypes` (type: `array`):

Optional codes such as DR, EM, or FM.

## `fromDate` (type: `string`):

Optional declaration start date in YYYY-MM-DD format.

## `toDate` (type: `string`):

Optional declaration end date in YYYY-MM-DD format.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum declaration records to save.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "states": [
    "TX",
    "CA"
  ],
  "incidentTypes": [
    "Flood"
  ],
  "declarationTypes": [],
  "fromDate": "",
  "toDate": "",
  "maxResults": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "states": [
        "TX",
        "CA"
    ],
    "incidentTypes": [
        "Flood"
    ],
    "maxResults": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("thirdwatch/fema-disaster-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "states": [
        "TX",
        "CA",
    ],
    "incidentTypes": ["Flood"],
    "maxResults": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("thirdwatch/fema-disaster-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "states": [
    "TX",
    "CA"
  ],
  "incidentTypes": [
    "Flood"
  ],
  "maxResults": 10
}' |
apify call thirdwatch/fema-disaster-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,thirdwatch/fema-disaster-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/ReBqnIgQDxwg7MLix/builds/5J8vLVmz0ovKVkHv2/openapi.json