Natural hazards · Tupelo

Tupelo, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Tupelo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Tupelo?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Tupelo to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding24%Earthquakes20%Tornadoes19%Drought18%Ice storms8%Cold waves5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Tupelo faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

19% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Drought

18% of expected damage

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Ice storms

8% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Tupelo flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Tupelo.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Tupelo isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Jackson County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Tupelo

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Tupelo itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Tupelo.

Brought FEMA money into TupeloDeclared for Jackson County only

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

2000

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$3K to the Town of Tupelo for repairs

Jackson County has had 28 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and tornadoes.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Tupelo is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Tupelo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Tupelo. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.