15,939 flood insurance claims·$1.3B paid·15 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 Harrison 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood history of Harrison County, Mississippi, accounting for 61 events and 1 death over the last 30 years, alongside 14 general floods, 3 storm surge or tide events, and 2 tropical storms. Recent impacts are documented in NOAA storm narratives, such as July 2025 thunderstorms that produced 76 mph wind gusts at the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport and heavy rainfall causing flash flooding that covered roads, stalled vehicles, and flooded apartment units in Gulfport. A similar northwest flow regime produced severe storms and instability in June 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that high-risk coastal and riverine properties in Zone V experience the highest vulnerability, averaging 50 inches of recorded water depth with average payouts of $138,488 across 386 claims. Zone A properties have filed the highest volume of claims at 10,677, with an average payout of $95,460 and an average water depth of 30 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone X—including 1,374 claims in unshaded areas averaging 24 inches of water depth and 971 claims in shaded areas averaging 30 inches—should also pay close attention, as moderate-to-low risk zones have accumulated thousands of claims with average payouts near or exceeding $90,000.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17% of Harrison County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
13,408 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 28 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 2005, with 8,241 claims and $1.2B paid, the year of Hurricane Dennis and Hurricane Katrina.
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.
38 NOAA storm reports from Harrison County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
36 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 15 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 28, 2020 |
| Hurricane Delta | Oct 7, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Marco And Tropical Storm Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Hurricane Nate | Oct 6, 2017 |
| Hurricane Isaac | Aug 26, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
80 since 1996: 61 flash floods, 14 river or area floods and 3 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2025 | $225,000 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Jun 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 11, 2024 | $30,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2024 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Sep 11, 2024 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 9, 2025. Northwest flow aloft regime continued to be in place on June 9th with an upper level ridge center west of the local forecast area. This pattern carried developing storms from NW to SE across the area late in the afternoon. Sufficient instability aided in thunderstorm enhancement which resulted in severe wind gusts.
Flash Flood · Jul 1, 2025. Strong to severe thunderstorms impacted the Mississippi Gulf Coast and adjacent waters on July 1, 2025, as a cold front moved into a hot and humid airmass. Over land, storms produced damaging wind gusts up to 76 mph at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, resulting in downed trees, large branches, and power lines across Harrison County. Heavy rainfall also caused flash flooding in Harrison and Jackson Counties,…
Storm Surge/Tide · Jun 16, 2024. As a surface ridge nearby shifted off to the northeast during the 3rd weekend of June, light and variable winds became onshore and more steady state. By June 16th, the surface ridge shifted offshore into the Atlantic Ocean and a surface low pressure was developing as it crossed the Yucatan Peninsula. It was at this point that east to southeast winds increased to 15-20 knots across local coastal waters and didn't l…
Flash Flood · Sep 11, 2024. Hurricane Francine formed as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico on September 9, 2024, and intensified into a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall near Houma, Louisiana, on the morning of September 11. Coastal counties of Mississippi experienced sustained tropical storm force winds and gusts which caused mostly minor damage to some homes and powerlines. A storm surge of 4-6 feet inundated low-lying coas…
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 Harrison 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.