24 flood insurance claims·$108,563 paid·3 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 Webster 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 scattered summer thunderstorms and heavy rainfall systems dominates the flood risk profile in Webster County, MS. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 24 flash flood events, alongside two hurricane events and one general flood event.
Severe weather patterns drive these incidents, such as the stationary front that produced heavy rains from February 10th through 12th, 2020. Tropical systems also impact the area, demonstrated when Tropical Depression Beta brought heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding on September 24th, 2020.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate historical claims spanning different risk zones. Properties categorized under Zone UNKNOWN account for 23 claims with an average payout of $4,808 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone A accounts for 1 claim with an average payout of $2,797 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties in unmapped or poorly defined zones, as well as those near historically vulnerable areas, should pay the closest attention to local drainage conditions and heavy rainfall forecasts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 2 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 1983, with 9 claims and $47,265 paid.
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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Webster County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 12, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Feb 22, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 30, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Apr 15, 2011 |
| Hurricane Gustav | Aug 28, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
27 since 1996: 24 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 1, 2025 | $3,000 |
| Flood | Sep 24, 2020 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 10, 2020 | $40,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 10, 2020 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 22, 2019 | $8,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 22, 2019 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 20, 2019 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 19, 2019 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 1, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms developed across portions of Mississippi. Strong winds and heavy rainfall accompanied a few of these storms.
Flood · Sep 24, 2020. Tropical Depression Beta moved across the region. Rain overspread from the west early on the 23rd. Rainfall was heavy through the afternoon and evening hours of the 23rd as Beta continued to track across the ArkLaMiss region. Rainfall totals were heaviest generally along and northwest of the Natchez Trace Parkway, where three to six inches occurred resulting in some flash flooding. One to two inches fell across th…
Flash Flood · Feb 10, 2020. Anomalous moisture was in place across the ArkLaMiss region as a stationary front was draped across the area. To the north of this front, severe storms brought hail while flash flooding occurred to the south as well as a tornado. Heavy rain occurred from February 10th-12th, with widespread two to seven inches occurring along and north of the I-20 corridor. Some locations saw locally higher amounts of nine to ten i…
Flash Flood · Feb 22, 2019. Heavy rain and thunderstorms developed as a frontal system stalled along the coast and a series of disturbances moved through the region. Some locations received 10 to over 15 inches of rain, resulting in significant flooding. Some of the thunderstorms that developed produced damaging wind gusts and hail.
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 Webster 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.