Natural hazards · Pearlington

Pearlington, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pearlington comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Pearlington?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pearlington to be higher than in 92% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes48%Inland flooding18%Coastal flooding13%Wildfire10%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Pearlington faces

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

Hurricanes

48% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Coastal flooding

13% of expected damage

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

Wildfire

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Pearlington flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hancock County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

75flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

4buildings retrofitted against wind

1homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Pearlington

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PearlingtonDeclared for Hancock County only

2026

Tropical Storm Arthur

9 households applied for aid $19K aid approved

2024

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

2 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

2021

Hurricane Ida

56 households applied for aid $156K aid approved

2020

Hurricane Zeta

32 households applied for aid $109K aid approved

2012

Hurricane Isaac

260 households applied for aid $355K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Gustav

105 households applied for aid $235K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

1,111 households applied for aid $12.7M aid approved

Hancock County has had 23 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. Pearlington 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 Pearlington’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Pearlington. 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.