Natural hazards · Cary

Cary, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cary comes from drought, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cary?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cary to be higher than in 72% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought36%Inland flooding25%Tornadoes13%Cold waves7%Hurricanes6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Cary faces

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

Drought

36% of expected damage

Recorded about 18 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 16 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Cary flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Sharkey County.

Disasters that hit Cary

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CaryDeclared for Sharkey County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

143 households applied for aid $575K aid approved $5K to the Town of Cary for repairs

2023

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

32 households applied for aid $25K aid approved

2011

Flooding

62 households applied for aid $562 aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

1 household applied for aid

Sharkey County has had 20 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. Cary 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 Cary’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Cary. 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.