685 flood insurance claims·$7.3M paid·10 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 Marion 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 events dominates the flood risk profile in Marion County, accounting for 79 out of 92 total flood-related events recorded over the last 30 years by the NOAA Storm Events Database. Additional recorded hazards during this period include seven tropical storms, three hurricanes, two general floods, and one tropical depression.
Recent occurrences illustrate these recurring weather patterns. In January 2024, an upper-level trough and a moist air mass produced training showers and thunderstorms that generated heavy rain and flooding across the region. Later that year, Tropical Storm Francine moved across central Mississippi on September 12, 2024, following its landfall in southern Louisiana.
NFIP claim data shows that flood losses extend across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for the highest volume with 317 claims averaging a $14,714 payout and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties located in Zone X recorded 31 claims with an average payout of $25,458 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches, while shaded Zone X_SHADED saw 189 claims averaging $13,582 with an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Unshaded Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 45 claims averaging $17,161 with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, and properties with an unknown zone recorded 96 claims averaging $4,972 with an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X variants should pay close attention to these localized flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
42% of Marion County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
552 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 3 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 1980, with 111 claims and $359,835 paid, the year of Storms, Flood, Mudslides & 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.
35 NOAA storm reports from Marion County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
37 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 10 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 |
| Hurricane Delta | Oct 7, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Marco And Tropical Storm Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Feb 10, 2020 |
| Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 26, 2019 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
92 since 1996: 79 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2025 | $12,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | $75,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 12, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 18, 2022 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2022 | $5,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 29, 2021 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 11, 2021 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 11, 2021 | $3,000 |
— = 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 · 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 18, 2022. Showers and thunderstorms developed in the warm, moist airmass south of a warm front. Some storms were severe and produced wind damage to portions of southeast Mississippi. Flash flooding occurred as storms began to move over the same region.
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 Marion 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.