Natural hazards · Hickory Flat

Hickory Flat, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hickory Flat comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate 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 Hickory Flat?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hickory Flat to be higher than in 58% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding33%Tornadoes24%Earthquakes18%Cold waves12%Heat waves6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Hickory Flat 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 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Tornadoes

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Earthquakes

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 16 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 Hickory Flat flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Benton County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

43storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Hickory Flat

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Hickory FlatDeclared for Benton County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

189 households applied for aid $308K aid approved $97K to the Town of Hickory Flat for repairs

2015

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

3 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2010

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $405 aid approved

Benton County has had 13 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. Hickory Flat 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 Hickory Flat’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Hickory Flat. 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.