Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0For strong wind, Fort Deposit’s building-damage rate is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fort Deposit gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%), then strong wind (15%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What stands out about Fort Deposit’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Fort Deposit faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Strong wind
Tornadoes
Hurricanes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Fort Deposit’s grade
River and rain flooding is 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in Fort Deposit, and Fort Deposit’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 61% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 15%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Fort Deposit’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $513K a year in losses across Fort Deposit: $236K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Fort Deposit flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Fort Deposit. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Fort Deposit isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lowndes County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Fort Deposit
Disasters that paid out in Fort Deposit itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Fort Deposit), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2004Hurricane Ivan491 households applied for aid$645K aid approved$14K to the Town of Fort Deposit for repairs
Lowndes County has had 17 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms.
Old photos of Fort Deposit after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Fort Deposit archive →Get ready for what Fort Deposit faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Fort Deposit
Is Fort Deposit at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fort Deposit has lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%) and strong wind (15%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Fort Deposit in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Lowndes County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Fort Deposit?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Fort Deposit’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Fort Deposit?
By FEMA money that reached Fort Deposit, Hurricane Ivan (2004): 491 households applied for aid, $645K approved, and $14K to the Town of Fort Deposit for repairs.
Is Fort Deposit at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and Fort Deposit’s rate for it is lower than 61% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fort Deposit.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Fort Deposit’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.