1,955 flood insurance claims·$36.2M paid·8 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 Washington 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 dominates the flood character of Washington County, accounting for 59 of the 71 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside river floods, hurricanes, and tropical systems. Recent severe weather events, such as those on April 5, 2025, and March 25, 2024, brought heavy rainfall that produced widespread flash flooding and flooding alongside damaging winds, hail, and tornadoes.
Flood insurance claims data from FEMA indicates that homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A should pay the most attention to flood risk, as this zone has accumulated 1,552 claims with an average payout of $24,070 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Properties located in unshaded Zone X, shaded Zone X, and areas with unknown zones have also experienced historical claims, with average recorded water depths ranging from 3 to 5 inches and average payouts between $9,051 and $26,812.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Washington County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,739 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 10 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 2008, with 421 claims and $9.2M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and Hurricane Gustav.
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.
40 NOAA storm reports from Washington County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1971, 8 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 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Mar 24, 2023 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| 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 |
| Flooding | May 3, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
71 since 1996: 59 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 25, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Mar 25, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Dec 13, 2022 | $30,000 |
| Tropical Depression | Aug 30, 2021 | $25,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 27, 2020 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2020 | $3,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 5, 2025. On the evening of April 5th into the morning of April 6th, strong to severe storms produced tornadoes, damaging winds and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Mar 25, 2024. As a low pressure system moved across the country, strong to severe thunderstorms developed and moved across portions of Mississippi. These storms produced damaging wind gusts, hail, flooding rainfall, and a tornado.
Flood · Mar 25, 2024. As a low pressure system moved across the country, strong to severe thunderstorms developed and moved across portions of Mississippi. These storms produced damaging wind gusts, hail, flooding rainfall, and a tornado.
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.
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 Washington 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.