45 flood insurance claims·$651,043 paid·13 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 Greene 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 and tropical systems dominate the recorded flood history in Greene County, which experienced 29 flash flood events alongside multiple tropical storms and hurricanes over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall events can produce significant accumulations over short periods, such as in December 2018 when a swath of over 10 inches of rain—with local reports reaching up to 15.5 inches in the Clara community—caused widespread road closures, washouts, and inundation. Tropical systems also frequently impact the area, including the inland passage of Hurricane Zeta in October 2020 and the winds and heavy rainfall from Hurricane Francine in September 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records reflect claims across multiple zones. Properties located in Zone A account for the highest claim volume with 26 filings, averaging $26,071 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Zone X properties recorded 6 claims averaging $19,067 with an average water depth of 4 inches, while properties with an unknown zone recorded 13 claims averaging $2,098 with an average water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A and locations susceptible to heavy rainfall and flash flooding.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Greene County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
26 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 6 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 2009, with 8 claims and $126,975 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Greene County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
32 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 13 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 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 28, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Marco And Tropical Storm Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornado | Dec 27, 2018 |
| Hurricane Nate | Oct 6, 2017 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
41 since 1996: 29 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 12, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 25, 2022 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 23, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 27, 2018 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 14, 2018 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 4, 2018 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 7, 2017 | $25,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Sep 12, 2024. Hurricane Francine impacted much of the south central gulf coast states, making landfall in Louisiana. Tropical storm force winds and gusts extended eastward into Mississippi and Alabama, resulting in some minor damage across the area. Coastal flooding additionally impacted much of Mobile and Baldwin Counties.
Flash Flood · Aug 25, 2022. A wet pattern continued across the Gulf Coast as additional heavy rain led to numerous flooding reports across southwest Alabama and southeast Mississippi.
Tropical Storm · Oct 28, 2020. Hurricane Zeta made landfall in southeast Louisiana during the late afternoon hours of Wednesday, October 28th as a strong category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. Zeta quickly raced northeast and moved across inland southeast Mississippi and inland southwest Alabama during the evening hours. Shortly after midnight, Thursday, October 29th, Zeta weakened to a tropical storm while moving across…
Flash Flood · Jan 23, 2019. Slow moving thunderstorms produced heavy rain which caused flooding in southeast Mississippi.
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 Greene 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.