Natural hazards · Hazlehurst

Hazlehurst, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hazlehurst comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1980. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hazlehurst?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hazlehurst to be higher than in 48% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and inland flooding.

Tornadoes36%Inland flooding27%Hail8%Heat waves8%Strong wind6%Hurricanes5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Hazlehurst faces

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

Tornadoes

36% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 92 years in the area

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 27% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times 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

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Hazlehurst flood?

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

5paid claims since 1980

$58Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19802026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Hazlehurst 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

18storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Hazlehurst

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HazlehurstDeclared for Copiah County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

3 households applied for aid

2012

Hurricane Isaac

140 households applied for aid $64K aid approved $34K to the City of Hazlehurst for repairs

2008

Hurricane Gustav

$17K to the City of Hazlehurst for repairs

2005

Hurricane Katrina

2,031 households applied for aid $1.8M aid approved $111K to the City of Hazlehurst for repairs

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Floods

77 households applied for aid $48K aid approved

2002

Tropical Storm Isidore

$69K to the City of Hazlehurst for repairs

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. Hazlehurst covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Hazlehurst’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Hazlehurst. 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 Hazlehurst total about $2.1M 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.