123 flood insurance claims·$1.7M paid·11 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 Perry 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 tropical weather dominates the flood history of Perry County, which recorded 34 flash flood events, four hurricanes, one tropical storm, and one tropical depression over the last 30 years.
Storms fueled by moist air masses and wet ground conditions frequently produce heavy rainfall, as demonstrated in recent events from June 2021 and August 2022. Additionally, fast-moving tropical systems such as Hurricane Zeta in October 2020 have brought damaging winds and heavy rain inland across the county.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with Zone A accounting for 79 claims averaging a payout of $17,008 with an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Zone X recorded 11 claims with an average payout of $65,701 and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN recorded 32 claims with an average payout of $5,581 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded one claim with an average payout of $42,415 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to flood risks given the substantial claim history and recorded water depths in these areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
1% of Perry County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
80 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 11 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 1990, with 27 claims and $66,703 paid, the year of 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Perry County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
32 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 11 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes. | Jun 14, 2023 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 28, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Marco And Tropical Storm Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornado | Dec 27, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jan 20, 2017 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
40 since 1996: 34 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 3, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 6, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 11, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 11, 2019 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Dec 27, 2018 | $1.8M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 24, 2022. A very favorable pattern for heavy rain combined with already wet ground conditions led to development of heavy rain and flooding across the area.
Flash Flood · Feb 3, 2022. A very moist and unstable airmass developed ahead of an approaching cold front. Storms developed along the front and produced damaging wind gusts as they moved across southeast Mississippi. Heavy rain from slow moving storms also caused flooding in some areas.
Flash Flood · Jun 6, 2021. Strong thunderstorm developed in southeast Mississippi and produced locally heavy rain along with strong wind gusts that caused some damage.
Flash Flood · Oct 28, 2020. Hurricane Zeta made landfall in southeast Louisiana during the late afternoon hours of Wednesday, October 28th as a strong category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. Zeta quickly raced northeast and moved across inland southeast Mississippi and inland southwest Alabama during the evening hours. Shortly after midnight, Thursday, October 29th, Zeta weakened to a tropical storm while moving across…
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 Perry 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.