Natural hazards · Bethlehem

Bethlehem, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bethlehem comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bethlehem?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bethlehem to be higher than in 49% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding33%Tornadoes25%Earthquakes19%Cold waves9%Heat waves7%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Bethlehem faces

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

Inland flooding

33% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

25% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Earthquakes

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Bethlehem flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Marshall County.

Disasters that hit Bethlehem

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Marshall County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Bethlehem itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into BethlehemDeclared for Marshall County only

Marshall County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

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