54 flood insurance claims·$981,994 paid·6 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 Leake 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 Leake County, Mississippi, supported by 44 recorded flash flood events over the last 30 years alongside impacts from tropical storms and hurricanes, the latter resulting in one death.
Recent occurrences illustrate these recurring hazards. In August 2022, a low pressure system brought several rounds of heavy rain that caused widespread flooding of roads, homes, and businesses across the state. Additionally, severe storms and storm clusters produced localized flash flooding and damaging winds between June 9th and 11th, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate historical claims across multiple zones. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 40 claims with an average payout of $10,142 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone A recorded 10 claims with an average payout of $19,530 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $215,866 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties in unmapped or poorly defined areas, as well as those located in designated high-risk zones, given the consistent threat of intense localized rainfall and flash flooding.
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 2 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 34 claims and $331,187 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding.
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.
17 NOAA storm reports from Leake County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 6 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 12, 2020 |
| Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 26, 2019 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 9, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2014 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
48 since 1996: 44 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2025 | $60,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2025 | $80,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2023 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2022 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2022 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2022 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2022 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2022 | $30,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 9, 2025. A few rounds of storms impacted the region between the 9th and 11th of June. A combination of a few storm clusters along with scattered activity resulted in isolated damaging winds and localized flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 18, 2023. An upper-level shortwave trough moving east through the Central Plains initiated a few clusters of thunderstorms that spread into Mississippi during the morning of June 18th. With an unstable air mass and strong jet stream over the region, these storms became severe and produced hail and damaging wind through the morning. An additional round of severe storms developed during the evening of the 18th and into the mo…
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.
Tropical Storm · Aug 30, 2021. Major hurricane Ida made landfall as a strong category four hurricane around 11:55am on August 29 near Grand Isle, LA. It then moved very slowly north through south central Louisiana and into Mississippi on August 30. It then turned northeast and moved across the Jackson metro area as a tropical storm and into northeast Mississippi as a tropical depression through the early morning of August 31. Ida brought tropic…
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 Leake 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.