Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Greenwood
Greenwood isn’t graded for hazard risk: Greenwood has 803 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Greenwood faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
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.
Does Greenwood flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Greenwood. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Greenwood isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Jackson County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Greenwood
Disasters that paid out in Greenwood itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Greenwood), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Hurricane Michael895 households applied for aid$1.3M aid approved$268K to the Town of Greenwood for repairs
- 2014Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding29 households applied for aid$39K aid approved
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds9 households applied for aid$11K aid approved$375 to the Town of Greenwood for repairs
- 2004Hurricane Ivan39 households applied for aid$60K aid approved
Jackson County has had 24 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Jackson County, 1999–1999.
Old photos of Greenwood after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Greenwood archive →Greenwood and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marianna | C−more damage than 85% | hurricanes | 9 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Greenwood faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Greenwood
Is Greenwood 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 Jackson County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Greenwood?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Greenwood’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 Greenwood?
By FEMA money that reached Greenwood, Hurricane Michael (2018): 895 households applied for aid, $1.3M approved, and $268K to the Town of Greenwood for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Greenwood.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Greenwood’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.