Natural hazards · Vancleave

Vancleave, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Vancleave comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2005. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Vancleave?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Vancleave to be higher than in 93% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes54%Inland flooding28%Tornadoes6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Vancleave faces

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

Hurricanes

54% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 30 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Vancleave flood?

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

4paid claims since 2005

$128Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20052026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Katrina: 1 claim, $29K
Hurricane Isaac: 1 claim, $13K
2026-06-Arthur-TS: 1 claim, $80K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jackson County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

9buildings retrofitted against wind

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Vancleave

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into VancleaveDeclared for Jackson County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

1 household applied for aid

2023

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes.

6 households applied for aid $15K aid approved

2021

Hurricane Ida

42 households applied for aid $102K aid approved

2020

Hurricane Zeta

383 households applied for aid $550K aid approved

2012

Hurricane Isaac

187 households applied for aid $237K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

1,418 households applied for aid $3.0M aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

48 households applied for aid $40K aid approved

Jackson County has had 26 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. Vancleave covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Vancleave’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Vancleave. 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 Vancleave total about $2.7M 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.