12 flood insurance claims·$98,730 paid·8 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 Franklin 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.
Franklin County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by flash flooding, with the NOAA Storm Events Database recording 32 flash flood events, 6 tropical storms, 2 hurricanes, and 2 general floods over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include heavy rain and flooding from training thunderstorms on January 24, 2024, and strong wind damage from Tropical Storm Francine as it moved across central Mississippi on September 12, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones with varying average water depths and payouts. Zone A properties recorded 4 claims with an average water depth of 4 inches and an average payout of $16,403. Zone X recorded 3 claims with an average water depth of 1 inch and an average payout of $6,854, while Zone X_SHADED recorded 3 claims with an average water depth of 5 inches and an average payout of $6,090. Properties with unknown zones accounted for 2 claims with an average water depth of 1 inch and an average payout of $3,998.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas such as Zone A, where historical claims reflect higher average payouts, as well as properties located in shaded Zone X areas that have experienced standing water depths averaging 5 inches during past flood events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 3 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 1979, with 4 claims and $24,238 paid.
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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Franklin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes. | Jun 14, 2023 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Hurricane Delta | Oct 7, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Marco And Tropical Storm Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Hurricane Isaac | Aug 26, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
42 since 1996: 32 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Oct 26, 2025 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | $35,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 12, 2024 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2022 | $1,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 30, 2021 | $250,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Oct 26, 2025. A line of thunderstorms formed west of the area and moved across Mississippi early in the morning. Some of these thunderstorms produced damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall.
Flash Flood · Jan 24, 2024. With an upper-level trough of low pressure situated over Central Plains and a very moist air mass extending north through the Mississippi River Valley, training showers and thunderstorms produced heavy rain and flooding over parts of Mississippi.
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 · Jun 30, 2022. Afternoon heating brought scattered showers and thunderstorms. Plentiful moisture in these storms resulted in localized flash flooding.
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 Franklin 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.