443 flood insurance claims·$4.4M paid·4 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 Leflore 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 weather and thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile, accounting for 38 of the 42 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 3 hurricane events and 1 general flood event resulting in 1 death.
Recent history illustrates this pattern. On February 20, 2019, heavy rain and thunderstorms from a stalled frontal system brought 10 to over 15 inches of rain and significant flooding. Later, on June 10, 2021, a slow-moving storm system produced rounds of flooding rains that inundated homes and roads across the region.
Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A, which received the vast majority of insurance claims (321 claims) with an average recorded water depth of 2 inches and an average payout of $10,211. Properties in Zone X also warrant close attention, having accumulated 58 claims with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches and an average payout of $34,990.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
15% of Leflore County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
377 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 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 174 claims and $930,567 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 Leflore County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1971, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Feb 10, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Feb 22, 2019 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 9, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Apr 15, 2011 |
| Hurricane Gustav | Aug 28, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
42 since 1996: 38 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 10, 2024 | $15,000 · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2021 | $1.1M |
| Flash Flood | Feb 22, 2019 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 20, 2019 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 9, 2019 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 22, 2018 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 6, 2018 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2017 | $100,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 10, 2024. A line of severe thunderstorms produced significant wind damage, heavy rain, hail, and a tornado as it crossed from Northeast Louisiana into Mississippi during the evening of April 9th. Subsequent heavy rain and storms continued into the daytime of April 10th.
Flash Flood · Jun 10, 2021. A slow moving storm system over the central United States produced another few rounds of thunderstorms with severe weather and flooding rains. Significant flooding occurred over portions of central and northern Mississippi, with many homes and roads flooded across the region.
Flash Flood · Feb 22, 2019. Heavy rain and thunderstorms developed as a frontal system stalled along the coast and a series of disturbances moved through the region. Some locations received 10 to over 15 inches of rain, resulting in significant flooding. Some of the thunderstorms that developed produced damaging wind gusts and hail.
Flash Flood · Feb 20, 2019. Heavy rain and thunderstorms developed as a frontal system stalled along the coast and a series of disturbances moved through the region. Some locations received 10 to over 15 inches of rain, resulting in significant flooding. Some of the thunderstorms that developed produced damaging wind gusts and hail.
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 Leflore 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.