44 flood insurance claims·$678,064 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 Oktibbeha 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 storms and slow-moving weather systems dominates the flood history of Oktibbeha County, accounting for 48 of the 57 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside minor occurrences of river floods, hurricanes, tropical storms, and tropical depressions.
Recent weather patterns illustrate this severe flash flood risk. In March 2024, a wave of thunderstorms produced a band of 3 to 5 inches of rainfall across northern Mississippi. Later that year, in June 2025, a complex of storms organized across northern Mississippi during the early afternoon, producing wind damage and heavy precipitation across portions of the northeast region.
Property owners and real estate professionals should pay close attention to historical claim data across different zones. Zone A recorded 26 NFIP claims with an average payout of $8,272 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Conversely, Zone X recorded 7 claims with a significantly higher average payout of $105,315 and an average recorded water depth of 50 inches. Zone X-unshaded recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $2,663 and an average water depth of 3 inches, while unknown zones accounted for 6 claims averaging $5,007 and 2 inches of water depth.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
16% of Oktibbeha County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
31 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 6 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 1979, with 8 claims and $41,714 paid, the year of Storms, Tornadoes, Floods.
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.
30 NOAA storm reports from Oktibbeha County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1979, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jan 10, 2020 |
| Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 26, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 13, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 23, 2010 |
| Hurricane Gustav | Aug 28, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
57 since 1996: 48 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2023 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Jul 14, 2023 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2023 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2023 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2022 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2022 | $2,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 8, 2025. A complex of storms organized across northern MS during the early afternoon of the 7th and produced a round of wind damage across portions of northeast MS.
Flood · Mar 1, 2024. A wave of thunderstorms produced a band of 3 to 5 inches of rainfall in parts of northern Mississippi during the morning of March 1st.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2023. Heavy rain from slow moving thunderstorms caused flash flooding in portions of Oktibbeha county in northeastern Mississippi.
Flood · Jul 14, 2023. Heavy rain from slow moving thunderstorms caused flash flooding in portions of Oktibbeha county in northeastern Mississippi.
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 Oktibbeha 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.