Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Ecru as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ecru gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (51%), then earthquakes (23%). 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 Ecru 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
Earthquakes
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.
What’s behind Ecru’s grade
River and rain flooding is 51% of the building damage FEMA expects in Ecru, and Ecru’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 17%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Ecru’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $391K a year in losses across Ecru: $217K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Ecru flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Ecru. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Ecru isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Pontotoc County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Ecru
Disasters that paid out in Ecru itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Ecru), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2026Severe Winter Storm177 households applied for aid$199K aid approved$73K to the Town of Ecru for repairs
Pontotoc County has had 16 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms.
Old photos of Ecru after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Ecru archive →Get ready for what Ecru 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Ecru
Is Ecru at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ecru has lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (51%) and earthquakes (23%). 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 Ecru 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 Pontotoc County, 4% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Ecru?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ecru’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 Ecru?
By FEMA money that reached Ecru, Severe Winter Storm (2026): 177 households applied for aid, $199K approved, and $73K to the Town of Ecru for repairs.
Is Ecru at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (51%), and Ecru’s rate for it is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ecru.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ecru’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.