Forrest County, Mississippi: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Forrest County, Mississippi has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 78.1 out of 100, higher than about 78% of US counties, with tornadoes, strong winds and hurricanes scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $33 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 30 federal disaster declarations that included Forrest County since 1969, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4899-MS (Severe Winter Storm, declared 6 February 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 47 tornadoes touching Forrest County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for Mississippi All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 78,050 Buildings worth $15 billion Area 475 sq mi Risk rank in Mississippi 15 of 82 FIPS 28035
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado | Relatively High | 92.7 | $7.8 million | about once every 1.8 years | 38 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 91.5 | $1.9 million | about 2.6 a year | 99 |
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | 90.4 | $7.1 million | about once every 5.0 years | 62 |
| Lightning | Relatively High | 90.1 | $1.0 million | about 82 a year | 209,293 strikes |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 83.9 | $1.6 million | about 12 a year | 187 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 81.7 | $414,166 | about once every 231 years | — |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 78.0 | $681,064 | about 3.2 a year | 122 |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Low | 69.6 | $11 million | about 3.6 a year | 101 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 68.5 | $628,509 | about once every 833 years | — |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 62.6 | $130,012 | about once every 1.4 years | 48 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 61.5 | $83,168 | about 1.6 a year | 31 |
| Landslide | Very Low | 52.0 | $1,328 | about once every 4.7 years | — |
| Cold wave | Relatively Low | 43.1 | $638,719 | about once every 1.4 years | 14 |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 42.2 | $71,482 | about 15 a year | 469 |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Coastal flooding | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 30
Most common: Hurricane 18, Severe Storm 6, Winter Storm 2, Flood 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 | Hurricane |
| 1970s | 3 | Hurricane, Snowstorm, Flood |
| 1980s | 2 | Severe Storm ×2 |
| 1990s | 3 | Hurricane ×2, Severe Storm |
| 2000s | 7 | Hurricane ×6, Severe Storm |
| 2010s | 6 | Severe Storm ×2, Hurricane ×2, Tornado, Flood |
| 2020s | 8 | Hurricane ×6, Winter Storm ×2 |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Forrest County
- Severe Winter Storm (2026, DR-4899-MS): 82 Mississippi counties designated.
- Severe Winter Storm (2026, EM-3640-MS): 82 Mississippi counties designated.
- Hurricane Ida (2021, DR-4626-MS): 82 Mississippi counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Ida (2021), Hurricane Zeta (2020), Hurricane Delta (2020), Hurricane Sally (2020), Hurricane Marco (2020), Hurricane Isaac (2012), Tropical Storm Isaac (2012), Hurricane Gustav (2008), Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Dennis (2005), Hurricane Ivan (2004), Hurricane Georges (1998), Hurricane Frederic (1979), Hurricane Camille (1969).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Mississippi also had 3 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 47
| Tornadoes touching the county | 47 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F4 ×2 |
| Peak month | March (10) |
| Deadliest | 21 Jan 2017, EF3, 31.1 mi path, 4 killed, 57 injured |
| Longest path | 19 Apr 2020, EF4, 53.8 mi path, 1 killed, 1 injured |
| Most recent | 6 Apr 2025, EF2, 6.5 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 5 / 160 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 13 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 8 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Forrest County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forrest County (this page) | — | Relatively Low | 78.1 | Tornado |
| Lamar County | 24 km | Relatively Low | 65.0 | Hurricane |
| Perry County | 25 km | Very Low | 19.5 | Hurricane |
| Stone County | 46 km | Relatively Low | 52.0 | Hurricane |
| Jones County | 49 km | Relatively Low | 80.2 | Tornado |
| Marion County | 54 km | Relatively Low | 60.0 | Hurricane |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Mississippi, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively Moderate 59.8 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively High 67.7 |
| Community risk factor | 1.21 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $33 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Forrest County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Mississippi · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Tornado: Is there a tornado warning now?
- Strong wind: Power outages now
- Hurricane: Is there a hurricane now? · Cyclone preparation
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Forrest County
What natural disasters is Forrest County, Mississippi most at risk from?
Forrest County, Mississippi has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 78.1 out of 100, higher than about 78% of US counties, with tornadoes, strong winds and hurricanes scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $33 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Forrest County had?
OpenFEMA lists 30 federal disaster declarations that included Forrest County since 1969, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4899-MS (Severe Winter Storm, declared 6 February 2026). Another 3 Mississippi declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Forrest County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 47 tornadoes touching Forrest County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 21 Jan 2017, EF3, 31.1 mi path, 4 killed, 57 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.