Natural hazards · Tunica

Tunica, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Tunica comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 16 claims here since 1979. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Tunica?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Tunica to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes39%Inland flooding28%Tornadoes16%Heat waves6%Cold waves5%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Tunica faces

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

Earthquakes

39% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 50 years in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Tunica flood?

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

16paid claims since 1979

$211Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $102K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Tunica County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

28storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Tunica

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into TunicaDeclared for Tunica County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

801 households applied for aid $2.1M aid approved

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

40 households applied for aid $22K aid approved

2011

Flooding

349 households applied for aid $5.0M aid approved

2011

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

292 households applied for aid $147K aid approved

Tunica County has had 13 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. Tunica 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 Tunica’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Tunica. 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.