Natural hazards · Waterford

Waterford, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Waterford comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Waterford?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Waterford to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding33%Tornadoes23%Earthquakes21%Cold waves9%Heat waves7%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Waterford faces

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

Inland flooding

33% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

23% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Earthquakes

21% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about 17 times 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 Waterford flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Marshall County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

21storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Waterford

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WaterfordDeclared for Marshall County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

198 households applied for aid $664K aid approved

2015

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

17 households applied for aid $515 aid approved

2011

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

3 households applied for aid

Marshall County has had 14 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. Waterford 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 Waterford’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Waterford. 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.