71 flood insurance claims·$936,697 paid·10 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 Covington 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 weather and summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Covington County, which recorded 51 flash flood events alongside impacts from tropical systems over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include Tropical Storm Francine in September 2024, which brought heavy rain and strong wind damage across central Mississippi as the system moved through the region. Additionally, a slow-moving low pressure system produced heavy rainfall and widespread flooding of roads, homes, and businesses in August 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that high-risk Zone A areas experienced the highest frequency of claims with 44 filings averaging $17,596 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Properties in Zone X also recorded significant losses, with 6 claims averaging $38,224 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone UNKNOWN accounted for 20 claims averaging $6,178 and an average water depth of 3 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 1 claim averaging $4,049 with 0 inches of recorded water depth.
Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A and Zone UNKNOWN, where the vast majority of historical insurance claims and deeper recorded water levels are concentrated.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Covington County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
45 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 7 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 1990, with 15 claims and $104,084 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes & 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.
30 NOAA storm reports from Covington County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
32 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 10 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes. | Jun 14, 2023 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Marco And Tropical Storm Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 22, 2020 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
61 since 1996: 51 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 12, 2024 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2022 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2022 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 22, 2022 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 18, 2022 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2021 | $20,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 30, 2021 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 16, 2021 | $2,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Sep 12, 2024. Tropical Storm Francine made landfall in southern Louisiana on the evening of September 11th, 2024. The weakening storm produced strong wind damage as it moved across central Mississippi the morning of September 12th, 2024.
Flash Flood · Aug 24, 2022. A low pressure system spinning over northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas brought several rounds of showers and thunderstorms producing heavy rain to Mississippi August 24th through 25th. This resulted in widespread flooding of roads, homes, and businesses around the state.
Flash Flood · Jul 22, 2022. Slow moving thunderstorms on the afternoon of July 22nd resulted in flash flooding in Covington County near Collins.
Flash Flood · Mar 18, 2022. Showers and thunderstorms developed in the warm, moist airmass south of a warm front. Some storms were severe and produced wind damage to portions of southeast Mississippi. Flash flooding occurred as storms began to move over the same region.
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 Covington 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.