Natural hazards · Louisville

Louisville, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Louisville comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 13 claims here since 1979. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Louisville?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Louisville to be higher than in 50% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and inland flooding.

Tornadoes32%Inland flooding22%Strong wind10%Cold waves10%Earthquakes9%Heat waves5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Louisville faces

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

Tornadoes

32% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 58 years in the area

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 15% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce 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 Louisville flood?

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

13paid claims since 1979

$188Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Katrina: 2 claims, $21K

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

Insurance rates: Winston County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

82storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Louisville

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LouisvilleDeclared for Winston County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

1 household applied for aid

2014

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1,104 households applied for aid $2.4M aid approved

2011

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

93 households applied for aid $51K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

1,210 households applied for aid $488K aid approved

Winston County has had 14 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. Louisville covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Louisville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Louisville. 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 Louisville total about $3.3M 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.