Natural hazards · Ripley

Ripley, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ripley comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2010. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ripley?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ripley to be higher than in 56% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and tornadoes.

Earthquakes38%Tornadoes22%Inland flooding19%Cold waves12%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Ripley faces

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

Earthquakes

38% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

19% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 22% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Ripley flood?

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

1paid claims since 2010

$24Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20102026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Tippah County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

175storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Ripley

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RipleyDeclared for Tippah County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

1,192 households applied for aid $2.2M aid approved $1.1M to the City of Ripley for repairs

2015

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

3 households applied for aid

2010

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

55 households applied for aid $34K aid approved $86K to the City of Ripley for repairs

2005

Hurricane Katrina

$11K to the City of Ripley for repairs

2001

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$26K to the City of Ripley for repairs

Tippah County has had 16 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. Ripley covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ripley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Ripley. 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 Ripley total about $1.7M 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.