Smithville’s biggest natural hazard is cold waves
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Smithville comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Smithville’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Smithville flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Smithville. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Smithville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Monroe County.What Smithville faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Cold waves
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Earthquakes
Heat waves
6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Smithville
Disasters that paid out in Smithville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Smithville) and its biggest flood years.
- 2023Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes211 households applied for aid$361K aid approved$12K to the Town of Smithville for repairs
- 2019Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding1 household applied for aid$4K aid approved
- 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding8 households applied for aid$47K aid approved
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Associated Flooding381 households applied for aid$1.1M aid approved$1.0M to the Town of Smithville for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Katrina$2K to the Town of Smithville for repairs
- 2002Severe Storms and Tornadoes1 household applied for aid
Monroe County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Old photos of Smithville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Smithville archive →How exposed is Smithville?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.
Calmer than 347 of the 426 Mississippi towns we cover.
Smithville is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Get ready for what Smithville actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in February–April
The month each of Monroe County’s 22 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Smithville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Smithville.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Smithville.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.