Natural Disasters in Petal, MS

Hazard risk, disaster history, and FEMA data

Natural Hazard Risk

Source: FEMA National Risk Index

Risk Score

78.1

Relatively Low

Expected Annual Loss

75.3

Score (0-100)

Social Vulnerability

59.8

Score (0-100)

Community Resilience

67.7

Score (0-100)

Top Hazard Risks

Tornado92.7Strong Wind91.5Hurricane90.4

Hazard	Risk Score
Tornado	92.7
Strong Wind	91.5
Hurricane	90.4
Lightning	90.1
Heat Wave	83.9
Wildfire	81.7
Hail	78.0
Earthquake	68.5
Ice Storm	62.6
Winter Weather	61.5
Landslide	52.0
Cold Wave	43.1
Drought	42.2

Scores range from 0 (lowest risk) to 100 (highest risk) relative to all U.S. communities. Data from FEMA National Risk Index.

Disaster Declarations

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA

Total Declarations

Most Recent

Winter Storm

Jan 2026

Most Common Type

Hurricane

18 declarations

Date	Type	Declaration
Jan 24, 2026	Winter Storm	SEVERE WINTER STORM
Oct 22, 2021	Hurricane	HURRICANE IDA
Aug 28, 2021	Hurricane	HURRICANE IDA
Oct 28, 2020	Hurricane	HURRICANE ZETA
Oct 8, 2020	Hurricane	HURRICANE DELTA
Sep 14, 2020	Hurricane	HURRICANE SALLY
Aug 23, 2020	Hurricane	HURRICANE MARCO AND TROPICAL STORM LAURA
Apr 5, 2020	Biological	COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Mar 13, 2020	Biological	COVID-19
Feb 14, 2019	Severe Storm	SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADO
Jan 25, 2017	Tornado	SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING
Mar 25, 2016	Flood	SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING
Feb 13, 2013	Severe Storm	SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING
Aug 29, 2012	Hurricane	HURRICANE ISAAC
Aug 28, 2012	Hurricane	TROPICAL STORM ISAAC
Sep 22, 2008	Hurricane	HURRICANE GUSTAV
Aug 30, 2008	Hurricane	HURRICANE GUSTAV
Aug 29, 2005	Hurricane	HURRICANE KATRINA
Aug 28, 2005	Hurricane	HURRICANE KATRINA
Jul 10, 2005	Hurricane	HURRICANE DENNIS

Showing 20 of 31 declarations

Individual Assistance

Source: FEMA Housing Assistance

Total IA Registrations

27,459

Total IA Distributed

$33,939,083

Repair/Replace

$6,479,836

Rental Assistance

$5,898,681

Disaster	Registrations	Total IA $	Avg Damage
DR-4576	1	N/A	—
DR-1603	2	N/A	—
DR-1459	1	N/A	—
DR-1604	22,980	$26,729,798	$1,722
DR-4295	1,881	$2,910,689	$4,444
DR-4528	389	$2,080,966	—
DR-4101	1,612	$1,592,691	$3,643
DR-4268	216	$328,967	$2,351
DR-4081	373	$288,003	$496
DR-1550	4	$7,969	$1,565

Individual and household assistance for homeowners and renters affected by federally declared disasters.

Flood Insurance (NFIP)

Source: FEMA NFIP

Total Claims

1,751

Total Claims Paid

$12,692,143

Avg Claim Payout

$7,249

County-level NFIP data from FEMA National Flood Insurance Program.

Disaster Recovery Spending

Source: FEMA Public Assistance

Total Federal Spending

$39,596,367

Disasters with PA

Total Projects

640

Disaster	Type	Projects	Federal $
DR-1604	Hurricane	410	$20,168,465
DR-4295	Tornado	31	$8,171,648
DR-4528	Biological	7	$5,649,920
DR-4101	Severe Storm(s)	30	$1,784,247
DR-4268	Flood	13	$734,478
DR-4576	Tropical Storm	12	$655,082
DR-4415	Severe Storm(s)	19	$584,164
DR-4626	Hurricane	9	$518,899
DR-1550	Hurricane	37	$365,820
DR-1794	Hurricane	15	$294,101
DR-1360	Severe Storm(s)	22	$227,619
DR-4350	Tropical Storm	14	$205,910
DR-4081	Hurricane	13	$142,524
DR-1594	Hurricane	3	$54,830
DR-4536	Severe Storm(s)	3	$33,849

Showing top 15 of 16 disasters by spending

Hazard Mitigation

Source: FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance

Mitigation Projects

Federal Funding

$13,223,923

Properties Protected

Avg Benefit-Cost Ratio

1.66

BCR

Top Mitigation Project Types

Project Type	Projects	Federal $
600.1: Warning Systems (as a Component of a Planned, Adopted, and Exercised Risk Reduction Plan)	4	$66,604
206.2: Safe Room (Tornado and Severe Wind Shelter) - Public Structures	4	$12,572,578
205.8: Retrofitting Public Structures - Wind	3	$127,716
403.1: Stormwater Management - Culverts	2	$0
200.1: Acquisition of Private Real Property (Structures and Land) - Riverine	1	$126,054

Federally funded projects to reduce future disaster risk. Only includes completed or obligated projects.

Petal has a relatively low overall natural hazard risk rating according to FEMA's National Risk Index. The top hazard risks are tornado, strong wind, hurricane. The area has had 31 federal disaster declarations. The most common disaster type is hurricane (18 declarations). 1,751 flood insurance claims have been filed in the area. FEMA has obligated $39,596,367 in public assistance recovery funding. $33,939,083 has been distributed in individual assistance to disaster-affected residents. 16 hazard mitigation projects have been funded to reduce future risk.