Natural hazards · Georgetown

Georgetown, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Georgetown comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Georgetown?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Georgetown to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and inland flooding.

Tornadoes33%Inland flooding28%Heat waves8%Hurricanes7%Hail6%Strong wind5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Georgetown faces

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

Tornadoes

33% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Georgetown flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Copiah County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Georgetown

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GeorgetownDeclared for Copiah County only

2012

Hurricane Isaac

8 households applied for aid $161 aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

201 households applied for aid $172K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Floods

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

Copiah County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

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