Natural hazards · West

West, MS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in West comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is West?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in West to be higher than in 49% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and inland flooding.

Tornadoes30%Inland flooding25%Cold waves14%Strong wind7%Heat waves6%Earthquakes5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What West faces

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

Tornadoes

30% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 West flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Holmes County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

13storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit West

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WestDeclared for Holmes County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

236 households applied for aid $960K aid approved

2011

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

61 households applied for aid $140K aid approved

2010

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

80 households applied for aid $104K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

147 households applied for aid $125K aid approved

Holmes County has had 25 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. West 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 West’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of West. 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.