Natural hazards · Clarksdale

Clarksdale, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Clarksdale comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate 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 Clarksdale?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Clarksdale to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding38%Tornadoes24%Drought13%Cold waves10%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Clarksdale faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

24% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Drought

13% of expected damage

Recorded about 22 times a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Clarksdale flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: DeKalb County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Clarksdale

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ClarksdaleDeclared for DeKalb County only

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $17K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

DeKalb County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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. Clarksdale 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 Clarksdale’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Clarksdale. 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.