States › Mississippi › Sharkey County

Sharkey County, Mississippi

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 28125 · 3,663 residents (2021) · 432 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 56Tornado · 38Flood · 20Wind · 107Winter · 21

Sharkey County within Mississippi. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Sharkey County, Mississippi, has 271 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 62.8 events per 100 square miles, below the Mississippi figure of 89.7, and 739.8 per 10,000 residents against 142.8 statewide.

10 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 39 deaths and 479 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $119M and crop damage at $32M.

FEMA has designated the county in 26 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm (major disaster, 6 Feb 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 238 claims since 1978, of which 207 were paid, totalling $2.8M (about $14K per paid claim). FEMA counts 109 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($3.8M a year across 18 hazards).

27 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

10events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

271events since 195039 deaths, 479 injuries recorded

26disaster declarationslast 6 Feb 2026

238NFIP flood claims$2.8M paid

Compared with Mississippi and the United States

Measure	Sharkey County	Mississippi	US
Recorded events since 1950	271	42,114	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	62.8	89.7	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	739.8	142.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	10	1,524	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	39	928	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$119M	$31B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	65.0	21.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$14K	$58K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	20.2	11.5	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 3

Wind: 2

Hail: 1Tornado: 4Wind: 6

Hail: 3Tornado: 5Wind: 4

Hail: 20Tornado: 5Flood: 1Wind: 17Winter: 2

Hail: 21Tornado: 7Flood: 8Wind: 33Winter: 3Tropical: 2Heat: 4Drought: 4

Hail: 9Tornado: 8Flood: 8Wind: 19Winter: 10Heat: 1Cold: 1Drought: 8Other: 1

Hail: 2Tornado: 6Flood: 3Wind: 26Winter: 6Cold: 2Drought: 5Other: 1

31950s21960s111970s121980s451990s822000s652010s512020s

Recorded events in Sharkey County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 148 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 95 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind107

Hail56

Tornado38

Winter21

Flood20

Drought17

Heat5

Cold3

Tropical2

Other2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	107	—	0.6%	detail
■ Hail	56	—	0.7%	detail
■ Tornado	38	37	1.1%	detail
■ Winter	21	1	1.1%	detail
■ Flood	20	—	0.5%	detail
■ Drought	17	—	1.2%
■ Heat	5	—	0.2%
■ Cold	3	1	0.9%
■ Tropical	2	—	0.4%
■ Other	2	—	0.9%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
21 Feb 1971	Tornado	Tornado	F4	—	—	14	192	County
24 Mar 2023	Tornado	Tornado	EF4	$83M	$136K	14	150	County
21 Feb 1971	Tornado	Tornado	F5	$25M	—	9	123	County
31 Jan 2026	Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	1	Forecast zone
14 Jan 2024	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
21 Nov 1992	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	4	County
17 Oct 2012	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$200K	—	—	4	County
13 Dec 2022	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$1.0M	—	—	3	County
29 Aug 2005	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$400K	$15M	—	—	Forecast zone
20 Mar 1980	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	1	County
23 Aug 2022	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$50K	—	—	1	County
3 Sep 2008	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	$6.0M	—	—	County
1 Oct 2006	Drought	Drought	—	—	$3.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
24 Apr 2010	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	—	$2.0M	—	—	County
15 May 2008	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$600K	$600K	—	—	County
24 Feb 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$800K	—	—	—	County
4 May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	69 mph	$700K	—	—	—	County
16 Oct 2006	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$300K	$300K	—	—	County
1 Jun 2007	Drought	Drought	—	—	$600K	—	—	Forecast zone
16 Jun 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	$500K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
6 Feb 2026	DR-4899	Major disaster	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Jan 2026	EM-3640	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
21 May 2025	DR-4874	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
26 Mar 2023	DR-4697	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
22 Oct 2021	DR-4626	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ida	Public assistance
28 Aug 2021	EM-3569	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Ida	Public assistance
8 Oct 2020	EM-3548	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Delta	Public assistance
23 Apr 2020	DR-4538	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides	Public assistance
5 Apr 2020	DR-4528	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3474	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
23 Apr 2019	DR-4429	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
11 May 2011	DR-1983	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 May 2011	EM-3320	Emergency	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
30 Aug 2008	EM-3291	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Gustav	Public assistance
29 Aug 2005	DR-1604	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina	Public assistance
7 Dec 2001	DR-1398	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding	Public assistance
25 Jan 1999	DR-1265	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Ice And Freezing Rain	Public assistance
20 Mar 1992	DR-939	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms & Tornadoes	Individual assistance
17 May 1991	DR-906	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
1 Jun 1983	DR-683	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance
16 Apr 1979	DR-577	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Storms, Tornadoes, Floods	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Apr 1979	EM-3077	Emergency	Severe Storm	Storms, Tornadoes, Floods	Individual assistance, Public assistance
22 Feb 1977	EM-3032	Emergency	Snowstorm	Drought & Freezing	Public assistance
4 Apr 1975	EM-3010	Emergency	Flood	Heavy Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance
27 Mar 1973	DR-368	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Heavy Rains, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
22 Feb 1971	DR-302	Major disaster	Tornado	Storms & Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Sharkey County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978238

Paid claims207

Total paid$2.8M

Average paid claim$14K

Repetitive-loss properties275 severe

Residential policies in force1096.0% of 1,804 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2023	1	0	$0	—
2020	6	6	$136,648	$22,775
2019	12	12	$526,485	$43,874
2018	2	2	$20,606	$10,303
2017	1	0	$0	—
2016	3	2	$31,830	$15,915
2015	2	1	$3,187	$3,187
2013	2	1	$10,308	$10,308
2011	14	11	$959,485	$87,226
2009	10	9	$47,605	$5,289
2008	15	13	$281,593	$21,661
2006	1	1	$39,738	$39,738
2005	2	2	$2,612	$1,306
2002	6	6	$14,076	$2,346
2001	3	2	$5,932	$2,966
2000	1	1	$427	$427
1999	2	2	$2,717	$1,359
1998	1	1	$563	$563
1997	2	2	$17,056	$8,528
1995	3	3	$13,833	$4,611
1994	7	6	$22,795	$3,799
1993	8	7	$12,820	$1,831
1991	29	27	$152,091	$5,633
1990	4	4	$17,913	$4,478
1983	38	32	$188,711	$5,897

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskVery Lowscore 15.8 of 100

Expected annual loss$3.8MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$1,014,550
Inland flooding	Very Low	$958,011
Tornado	Relatively Low	$663,018
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$299,750
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$193,247
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$174,658
Hail	Relatively Low	$153,722
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$138,013
Earthquake	Very Low	$127,995
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$52,880
Lightning	Very Low	$49,264
Winter weather	Very Low	$7,444
Wildfire	Very Low	$492
Landslide	Very Low	$25

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles27

Tracks within 50 miles8

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Ida	2021	52 mi	46 mph
Delta	2020	43 mi	40 mph
Olga	2019	96 mi	52 mph
Isidore	2002	77 mi	46 mph
Andrew	1992	98 mi	40 mph
Danny	1985	92 mi	46 mph
Elena	1985	89 mi	52 mph
Edith	1971	93 mi	46 mph
Camille	1969	55 mi	86 mph
Betsy	1965	69 mi	40 mph
Audrey	1957	35 mi	46 mph
Esther	1957	96 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	42 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	66 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	50 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	60 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	39 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	98 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1909	44 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1906	86 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1905	23 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1898	92 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1890	98 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	21 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1879	64 mi	58 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

39159 178
38721 31
39061 9
39054 6

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Sharkey County, MS?

NCEI records 56 hail events in Sharkey County since 1950, in 25 different years; that is about 0.7 recorded events a year. 12 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Sharkey County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 38 tornadoes in Sharkey County since 1950, 16 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 37.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Sharkey County?

6 Feb 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a major disaster declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 26 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Sharkey County, and how much was paid?

238 NFIP claims since 1978, 207 of them paid, for $2.8M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Sharkey County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Very Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Very High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Moderate" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Sharkey County compare with the rest of Mississippi?

62.8 recorded events per 100 square miles against 89.7 statewide, and 65.0 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 21.9. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.