1,394 flood insurance claims·$18.0M paid·10 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 Wilkinson 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 floods driven by heavy rainfall and stalled frontal boundaries dominate the flood risk profile in Wilkinson County, alongside significant exposure to tropical systems, hurricanes, and river flooding. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 12 flash flood events, 5 tropical storms, 3 hurricanes, 3 general floods, and 1 tropical depression. Recent recorded events include flash flooding driven by near-record atmospheric moisture and stalled fronts on January 24, 2024, as well as severe storms producing flash flooding, wind damage, and tornadoes on December 14, 2022.
Historical NFIP claim data indicates that properties in Zone A have experienced the highest impact with 738 claims, an average payout of $21,245, and an average recorded water depth of 30 inches. Properties categorized under Zone UNKNOWN recorded 627 claims with an average payout of $7,141 and an average water depth of 5 inches, while Zone X properties logged 28 claims with an average payout of $27,648 and an average water depth of 14 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 1 claim with a $0 payout and an average water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties in Zone A and unmapped or unknown flood zones should pay the closest attention to these risks, given the high frequency of damaging flash floods and tropical weather systems in the area.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Wilkinson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
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 18 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 123 claims and $988,106 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and 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.
15 NOAA storm reports from Wilkinson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
31 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 10 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 |
| Hurricane Delta | Oct 7, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Marco And Tropical Storm Laura | Aug 23, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Feb 10, 2020 |
| Hurricane Isaac | Aug 26, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
24 since 1996: 12 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Dec 14, 2022 | — |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Aug 29, 2021 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 24, 2021 | $500,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 9, 2020 | $3.0M |
| Tropical Storm | Jul 13, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 12, 2016 | $5.6M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jan 24, 2024. For the second time in January, near record levels of moisture in the atmosphere for January was in place across southern Mississippi and southeast Louisiana. Low level convergence aided in the formation of a weak stalled frontal boundary, which became the focus for widespread showers and thunderstorms. Strong diffluence aloft from an approaching upper level jet enhanced storms that did develop. The combo of more…
Flash Flood · Dec 14, 2022. A strong upper level disturbance and surface low produced several supercell thunderstorms with embedded tornadoes across Southeast Louisiana and Southern Mississippi during the late afternoon and evening hours of Wednesday December 14, 2022. These supercell thunderstorms produced straight line wind damage, flash flooding and tornadoes. ||2 tornadoes have been confirmed in Mississippi from this event. These tornado…
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…
Flash Flood · Apr 24, 2021. A line of severe thunderstorms associated with a strong cold front moving through the area produced widespread wind damage across the region.
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 Wilkinson 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.