Natural hazards · Oxford

Oxford, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Oxford comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 18 claims here since 2001. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Oxford?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Oxford to be higher than in 37% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes24%Inland flooding23%Cold waves23%Tornadoes17%Heat waves6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Oxford faces

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

Earthquakes

24% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 25% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

23% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about 18 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 Oxford flood?

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

18paid claims since 2001

$331Kpaid to owners

4homes flooded more than once

20012026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 4 claims, $52K
Hurricane Isaac: 2 claims, $75K
Hurricane Ivan: 1 claim, $4K

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

🏷️ 10% off flood insurance. Oxford is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Lafayette County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

486storm safe rooms built

1homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Oxford

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OxfordDeclared for Lafayette County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

2,700 households applied for aid $3.6M aid approved

2020

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

1 household applied for aid

2011

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

148 households applied for aid $119K aid approved

2010

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

1 household applied for aid

Lafayette County has had 17 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. Oxford covers 6 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Oxford’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Oxford. 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 Oxford total about $9.6M 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.