Photo: Nyttend · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Cooter
Cooter isn’t graded for hazard risk: Cooter has 285 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 1980.
What Cooter faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
Ice storms
Tornadoes
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 Cooter flood? Rarely: 7 flood claims since 1980
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Cooter, from FEMA’s records.
Cooter isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Pemiscot County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Cooter
Disasters that paid out in Cooter itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Cooter), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2009Severe Winter Storm$27K to the City of Cooter for repairs
Pemiscot County has had 21 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Cooter after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cooter archive →Get ready for what Cooter faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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.
- 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 Cooter
Does Cooter flood?
Flood insurance has paid 7 claims in Cooter since 1980, $25K in all.
Is Cooter 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 Pemiscot County, 4.7% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Cooter?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cooter’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 Cooter?
By FEMA money that reached Cooter, Severe Winter Storm (2009): $27K to the City of Cooter for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cooter.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cooter’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.