FEMADR-827-NCMajor disasterDeclared May 17, 1989
DR-827-NC: North Carolina Tornadoes
FEMA made a major disaster declaration for North Carolina (DR-827-NC) on May 17, 1989 for the incident of May 5, 1989 to May 6, 1989; it covers 13 designated areas.
The declaration
- Declaration
- DR-827-NC (also written FEMA-827-DR)
- Type
- Major disaster declaration
- State
- North Carolina
- Incident
- Tornado: Tornadoes
- Incident period
- May 5, 1989 to May 6, 1989
- Declared
- May 17, 1989
- Programs declared
- Individual Assistance (the older program, flagged until 2008), Public Assistance
- FEMA region
- 4
- Place in the year
- the first of 2 major disaster declarations for North Carolina in 1989
- Status
- closed out on June 14, 2002
Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). Data as of September 29, 2026.
Which areas are covered, and for what?
| Designated area | Individuals and Households | Individual Assistance (older program) | Public Assistance | Hazard Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anson (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Catawba (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Cleveland (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Davidson (County) | — | Yes | Yes | — |
| Davie (County) | — | Yes | Yes | — |
| Durham (County) | — | Yes | Yes | — |
| Forsyth (County) | — | Yes | Yes | — |
| Granville (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Guilford (County) | — | Yes | Yes | — |
| Iredell (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Lincoln (County) | — | Yes | Yes | — |
| Rutherford (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Union (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
An area can be added to a declaration after the first day, or have a program added: this table is FEMA's current list.
Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). Data as of September 29, 2026.
How much has FEMA approved?
FEMA has published no assistance totals for this declaration.
Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2); FEMA, OpenFEMA FEMA Web Disaster Summaries (v1). Data as of September 29, 2026.
FEMA's page for this declaration
FEMA's own page for this declaration is fema.gov/disaster/827. AreaZine is not FEMA and cannot answer questions about an application.