Photo: NatalieMaynor from Jackson, Mississippi, USA · CC BY 2.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Duck Hill than in 77% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Duck Hill gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%), then tornadoes (11%). 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 Duck Hill 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
Tornadoes
Earthquakes
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 Duck Hill’s grade
River and rain flooding is 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Duck Hill, and Duck Hill’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 11%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
C− higher expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Duck Hill’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $270K a year in losses across Duck Hill: $152K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Duck Hill flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Duck Hill. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Duck Hill isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Montgomery County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Duck Hill
Disasters that paid out in Duck Hill itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Duck Hill), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2026Severe Winter Storm276 households applied for aid$527K aid approved
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding180 households applied for aid$191K aid approved
- 2023Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes40 households applied for aid$11K aid approved
Montgomery County has had 16 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms.
Old photos of Duck Hill after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Duck Hill archive →Get ready for what Duck Hill 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Duck Hill
Is Duck Hill at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Duck Hill has higher expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%) and tornadoes (11%). 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 Duck Hill 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 Montgomery County, 8% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Duck Hill?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Duck Hill’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 Duck Hill?
By FEMA money that reached Duck Hill, Severe Winter Storm (2026): 276 households applied for aid, $527K approved.
Is Duck Hill at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Duck Hill’s rate for it is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Duck Hill.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Duck Hill’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.