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Natural hazards · Pope

Pope, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pope comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Pope?

50
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

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

Tornadoes26%Earthquakes18%Inland flooding15%Cold waves13%Heat waves12%Strong wind10%Everything else8%
By hazard

What Pope faces

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

Tornadoes

26% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 30 years in the area

Earthquakes

18% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 24% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

12% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places
Recorded about 22 times a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Pope flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Pope isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Panola County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

49storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Pope

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PopeDeclared for Panola County only
2026

Severe Winter Storm

329 households applied for aid $706K aid approved
2023

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

60 households applied for aid $26K aid approved
2020

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

9 households applied for aid $19K aid approved
2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid
2015

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

2 households applied for aid
2011

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

13 households applied for aid $14K aid approved
Panola County has had 21 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. Pope 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 Pope’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Pope. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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