Natural hazards · Utica

Utica, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Utica comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high 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 Utica?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Utica to be higher than in 61% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding31%Tornadoes19%Hail12%Heat waves10%Cold waves7%Hurricanes6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Utica faces

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

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

19% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Hail

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Heat waves

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about 16 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Utica flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hinds County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

10storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Utica

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into UticaDeclared for Hinds County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

6 households applied for aid $26K aid approved

2024

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

177 households applied for aid $378K aid approved

2012

Hurricane Isaac

22 households applied for aid $6K aid approved $1K to the Town of Utica for repairs

2011

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

4 households applied for aid

2005

Hurricane Katrina

706 households applied for aid $421K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Floods

5 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

Hinds 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. Utica 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 Utica’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Utica. 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.