Natural hazards · Kosciusko

Kosciusko, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kosciusko comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 20 claims here since 1979. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kosciusko?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kosciusko to be higher than in 49% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding26%Tornadoes26%Earthquakes12%Cold waves10%Strong wind7%Heat waves5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Kosciusko faces

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

Inland flooding

26% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

26% of expected damage

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

Earthquakes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Kosciusko flood?

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

20paid claims since 1979

$417Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $26K
Hurricane Katrina: 1 claim, $22K

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. Kosciusko isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Attala County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

16storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Kosciusko

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KosciuskoDeclared for Attala County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

374 households applied for aid $1.3M aid approved

2011

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

30 households applied for aid $11K aid approved

2010

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

50 households applied for aid $56K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

632 households applied for aid $274K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Floods

10 households applied for aid $12K aid approved

Attala 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. Kosciusko covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Kosciusko’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Kosciusko. 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 Kosciusko total about $3.2M 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.