Natural hazards · Clarksdale

Clarksdale, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Clarksdale comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 74 claims here since 1980. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Clarksdale?

66
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Clarksdale to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and tornadoes.

Earthquakes30%Tornadoes27%Inland flooding23%Heat waves7%Strong wind6%Everything else7%
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.

Earthquakes

30% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

27% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places
Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Clarksdale flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Clarksdale, from FEMA’s records.

74paid claims since 1980
$3.1Mpaid to owners
10homes flooded more than once
19802026

Biggest named events

  • Late winter severe storms: 32 claims, $2.6M
  • Mid-spring storms: 2 claims, $90K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

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: Coahoma County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

32storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Clarksdale

7 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 Coahoma County only
2026

Severe Winter Storm

2,892 households applied for aid $8.4M aid approved
2020

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$354K to the City of Clarksdale for repairs
2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

266 households applied for aid $1.2M aid approved $186K to the City of Clarksdale for repairs
2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

203 households applied for aid $288K aid approved
2011

Flooding

29 households applied for aid $3K aid approved
2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Associated Flooding

70 households applied for aid $28K aid approved
2005

Hurricane Katrina

1 household applied for aid $44K to the City of Clarksdale for repairs
Coahoma County has had 18 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. Clarksdale covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.
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.

FEMA’s expected losses across Clarksdale total about $8.5M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01