1,755 flood insurance claims·$12.8M paid·11 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 Forrest 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 events and tropical systems dominates the flood history of Forrest County. NOAA Storm Events Database records show 136 flash flood events, alongside 11 tropical storms and 3 hurricanes over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include Tropical Storm Francine in September 2024, which produced strong wind damage as it moved across central Mississippi, and localized flash flooding caused by heavy rainfall totals of four to over five and a half inches during a severe storm system in February 2022. Additional severe thunderstorms and flash flooding occurred in April and December 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that historical payouts span multiple zones. Zone A accounts for the vast majority with 1,351 claims averaging an $8,921 payout and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties categorized under Zone X recorded 130 claims with an average payout of $19,467 and an average water depth of 3 inches, while Zone X unshaded properties saw 88 claims averaging $9,640 with an average water depth of 6 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located in Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risk, given the high volume of historical claims, alongside properties in Zone X and unshaded variants that have recorded higher average payout amounts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Forrest County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,479 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 1983, with 547 claims and $2.4M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding & Tornadoes.
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.
71 NOAA storm reports from Forrest County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
32 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 11 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 27, 2020 |
| Hurricane Delta | Oct 7, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Marco And Tropical Storm Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornado | Dec 27, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jan 20, 2017 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
151 since 1996: 136 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 12, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2022 | $90,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2022 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2022 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2022 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2022 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 18, 2022 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 17, 2022 | $15,000 |
— = 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 · 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.
Flash Flood · Apr 17, 2022. Several rounds of severe thunderstorms produced large hail, damaging wind gusts, and tornadoes through the day on April 17th.
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 Forrest 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.