43 flood insurance claims·$645,667 paid·9 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 Lawrence 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 thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Lawrence County, supported by additional impacts from tropical systems. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 35 flash flood events, alongside 4 tropical storms, 2 hurricanes, and 1 general flood. Recent activity includes heavy rainfall and flash flooding from training thunderstorms in January and March 2024, followed by strong winds and heavy rain as Tropical Storm Francine moved across central Mississippi in September 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims distributed across multiple zones. Properties in Zone A experienced 21 claims with an average payout of $23,267 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 15 claims averaging $8,376 with an average water depth of 3 inches, while Zone X logged 7 claims with an average payout of $49,838 and an average water depth of 4 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and unmapped areas should pay the closest attention to flood risks given the frequency of flash flooding and recorded claim histories. Additionally, properties in Zone X should maintain awareness, as lower-risk zones still experience costly flood events during severe weather.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Lawrence County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
21 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 8 claims and $44,238 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.
21 NOAA storm reports from Lawrence County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
32 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 9 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 22, 2020 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
42 since 1996: 35 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Oct 26, 2025 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 12, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 8, 2024 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 8, 2024 | $50,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 29, 2021 | $75,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 6, 2021 | $135,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2020 | $4,000 |
— = 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 · Mar 8, 2024. Training of heavy thunderstorms produced flash flooding across central Mississippi and the Interstate 20 corridor.
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 Lawrence 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.