Natural hazards · Purvis

Purvis, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Purvis comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Purvis?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Purvis to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes34%Inland flooding31%Tornadoes12%Heat waves7%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Purvis faces

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

Hurricanes

34% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 23 years in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Purvis flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lamar County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

20storm safe rooms built

19buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Purvis

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PurvisDeclared for Lamar County only

2026

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

151 households applied for aid $470K aid approved

2017

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

72 households applied for aid $25K aid approved

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

10 households applied for aid $974 aid approved

2012

Hurricane Isaac

28 households applied for aid $40K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

3,728 households applied for aid $4.4M aid approved $117K to the City of Purvis for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

$5K to the City of Purvis for repairs

2001

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

$18K to the City of Purvis for repairs

Lamar County has had 20 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. Purvis covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Purvis’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Purvis. 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 Purvis total about $1.5M 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.