67 flood insurance claims·$4.3M paid·2 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Alcorn County, Mississippi. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from severe storms dominates the flood history of Alcorn County, MS, accounting for 36 events and one death compared to four standard flood events over the last 30 years. NOAA storm records document multiple recent instances of this hazard, including heavy rain and flash flooding from slow-moving thunderstorms on May 10, 2023, and a severe weather system producing locally heavy rain and flooding on April 13, 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend across multiple zones with varying financial impacts. Zone X (unshaded) accounts for 27 claims with an average payout of $61,457 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone A accounts for 26 claims with an average payout of $98,369 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone X accounts for 11 claims with an average payout of $131,455 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X (shaded) shows 3 claims with an average payout of $6,950 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and unshaded Zone X areas should pay the closest attention to these flood risks, given the higher volume of historical claims and significant average payouts associated with these zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
54% of Alcorn County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
56 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 4 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2010, with 38 claims and $3.4M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
8 NOAA storm reports from Alcorn County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 26, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Feb 22, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Apr 15, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 1, 2010 |
| Hurricane Gustav | Aug 28, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
40 since 1996: 36 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 10, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 13, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 17, 2021 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 12, 2020 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 22, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2014 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 5, 2025. The front eventually sagged south back into the Mid-South during the early morning hours of April 5th. Strong low-level moisture transport into the frontal zone resulted in heavy rain and training storms across northern sections of the Mid-South, mainly north of I-40. A bow echo developed along and just south of the slowly advancing front. This feature crossed the entire forecast area producing 13 tornadoes, inclu…
Flash Flood · May 10, 2023. Slow-moving bands of showers and thunderstorms associated with an upper low located over the Lower Mississippi Valley intensified during the afternoon hours on May 10, 2023, when instability peaked. Locally heavy rainfall resulted in isolated flash flooding over extreme northeast Mississippi.
Flash Flood · Apr 13, 2022. A shortwave moved into the Lower Mississippi Valley triggering numerous showers and thunderstorms across Arkansas during the morning hours of April 13, 2022. Storms eventually organized into a line that swept across the Mid-South. A strong low-level jet, large amounts of wind shear, and moderate amounts of instability supported severe thunderstorms across the Mid-South. Large hail, damaging wind and tornadoes were…
Flash Flood · Mar 17, 2021. A slow-moving warm front lifted north into the Mid-South during the morning hours of March 17th with numerous showers and thunderstorms. Heavy rain produced some flash flooding and there were a couple of severe weather reports along with a couple of damaging lightning strikes. The front stalled across the area during the day with southern parts of the Mid-South, especially northeast Mississippi, becoming quite uns…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Alcorn County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.