828 flood insurance claims·$17.9M paid·14 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 Pearl River 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 thunderstorms and tropical systems dominates the flood character of Pearl River County, MS, supported by 17 flash flood events, 11 tropical storm events, and 5 hurricane events over the last 30 years. Recent impacts are documented in events such as the May 2024 storms that brought multiple rounds of heavy rain and urban flash flooding, and the September 2024 Tropical Storm Francine, which produced heavy rainfall that flooded many roads.
NFIP claim records reflect widespread vulnerability across different designated zones. Properties located in Zone A have recorded the highest volume with 500 claims averaging an 11-inch water depth and a $30,101 payout. Meanwhile, properties designated as Zone X recorded 226 claims with an average 8-inch water depth and a $27,867 payout. Additional claims occurred across unshaded and shaded Zone X variations, as well as zones with unknown designations.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within high-risk Zone A, which accounts for the majority of historical claims and greater average water depths, as well as properties in Zone X that face recurring flood risks from heavy rainfall and tropical systems.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Pearl River County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
525 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 9 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 2005, with 158 claims and $3.0M paid, the year of Hurricane Dennis and Hurricane Katrina.
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.
21 NOAA storm reports from Pearl River County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
36 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 14 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 27, 2020 |
| Hurricane Delta | Oct 7, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Marco And Tropical Storm Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Hurricane Nate | Oct 6, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 9, 2016 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
42 since 1996: 17 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2024 | $40,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 10, 2024 | — |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Aug 29, 2021 | $1.0M |
| Tropical Storm | Jun 19, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 10, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | $15.0M |
| Flood | May 11, 2019 | $100,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 16, 2024. Continual progressive flow aloft coupled with unstable air ignited thunderstorms across southeastern Texas during the afternoon hours. These storms formed into a linear complex and traversed along a northward advancing warm front draped across the gulf coast. Aided by ample instability and favorable wind shear, this cluster organized into a damaging wind risk across coastal Mississippi. Multiple rounds of storms…
Tropical Storm · Sep 11, 2024. Hurricane Francine formed as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico on September 9, 2024, and intensified into a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall near Houma, Louisiana, on the morning of September 11. Coastal counties of Mississippi experienced sustained tropical storm force winds and gusts which caused mostly minor damage to some homes and powerlines. A storm surge of 4-6 feet inundated low-lying coas…
Flash Flood · Apr 10, 2024. A strong upper level disturbance, surface low, and cold front produced a line of severe thunderstorms that pushed across Southeast Louisiana and Southern Mississippi in the morning and early afternoon hours of Wednesday, April 10, 2024. The line of severe thunderstorms produced strong straight line winds, extensive flash flooding in the New Orleans metro area and several tornadoes. 12 tornadoes have been confirmed…
Hurricane (Typhoon) · Aug 29, 2021. The ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, Ida originated from a tropical wave in the Caribbean Sea on August 23rd. On August 26th, the wave developed into a tropical depression, which organized further and became Tropical Storm Ida later that day, near Grand Cayman. On a northwestward track, Ida intensified into a hurricane on August 27, just before…
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 Pearl River 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.