87 flood insurance claims·$1.2M 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 Panola 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 heavy rainfall events dominates the flood risk profile in Panola County, Mississippi. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 27 flash flood events resulting in one death, alongside four general flood events and one tropical storm. Recent historical events include a significant severe weather system on March 24, 2023, and a multi-day heavy rainfall episode driven by a stalled upper low from June 8 through June 10, 2021, which dropped up to four inches of rain before sunrise and caused widespread flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that claims have been filed across multiple zones, with the highest volume occurring in high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for 40 claims with an average recorded water depth of 8 inches and an average payout of $14,490. Moderate- and low-risk areas also experience losses, including 22 claims in Zone X averaging 2 inches of water depth and $36,643 in payouts, 17 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED averaging 2 inches of water depth and $5,141 in payouts, six claims in Zone UNKNOWN averaging 4 inches of water depth and $4,749 in payouts, and two claims in Zone X_SHADED averaging 1 inch of water depth with no payout.
Property owners in Zone A face the highest average water depths and should pay the closest attention to flood risk, though residents in Zone X and unshaded zones should also note that historical claims document standing water and property damage outside designated high-risk areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
32% of Panola County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
59 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 5 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 1991, with 25 claims and $273,381 paid, the year of Severe Storms & Flooding and Severe Storms, Tornadoes & 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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Panola County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Mar 24, 2023 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 12, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jan 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 Flooding | Dec 23, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
32 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 24, 2023 | $40,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2021 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2021 | $250,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 12, 2020 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Feb 21, 2018 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Nov 5, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 15, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 24, 2023. The first significant event to produce widespread severe weather across the Mid-South for 2023 occurred on March 24, during the afternoon and evening hours. This severe weather episode occurred mainly over portions of the Lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys. Surface analysis for this day depicted a quasi-stationary boundary from the Mid-Atlantic States and Ohio Valley through northern portions of West Tenness…
Flash Flood · Jun 10, 2021. A stubborn upper low remained stalled across the area on June 10, 2021. This feature continued to interact with a very moist air mass across the region to produce very heavy rainfall amounts across mainly North Mississippi. Significant flash flooding occurred across parts of North Mississippi, especially in Tallahatchie County.
Flash Flood · Jun 9, 2021. An upper low continued to meander across the region on June 9, 2021. Weak upper-level disturbances rotated around the upper low and interacted with a very moist air mass across the Mid-South to produce several rounds of heavy rain across East-Central Arkansas and North Mississippi. There were several instances of flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 8, 2021. An upper low parked over the Mid-South resulted in widespread showers and thunderstorms across North Mississippi during the early morning hours of June 8, 2021. Some locations received up to 4 inches of rain before sunrise which set the stage for flash flooding later that morning into the afternoon as a mesoscale convective vortex pushed into the Mid-South. This feature resulted in several areas of showers and thu…
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 Panola 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.