The Mississippi coast: Katrina's surge record and the state's first FORTIFIED grant

Katrina, 2005

Katrina made its final landfall near the mouth of the Pearl River, at the Louisiana-Mississippi border, at about 1445 UTC on August 29, 2005 as a 105 kt, category 3 hurricane. High water marks collected under FEMA's direction show a surge of about 24 to 28 ft across a swath roughly 20 miles wide centered on St. Louis Bay, covering Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian and Long Beach. The highest mark was 27.8 ft at Pass Christian, and the surge ran 17 to 22 ft from Gulfport to Pascagoula.

The same report describes surge reaching at least six miles inland in many places and up to 12 miles along bays and rivers, entire communities reduced in places to foundations, and casinos on floating barges pushed ashore. The Jackson County emergency operations center in Pascagoula reported a 108 kt gust. NHC counts 172 direct deaths in Mississippi, most of them probably caused by the surge in the three coastal counties. FEMA's DR-1604 covered all three.

Isaac, 2012

Isaac pushed an 8.00 ft storm surge to the Bay Waveland Yacht Club gauge, and USGS sensors suggest inundation of 5 to 9 ft above ground in Hancock and Harrison counties, with high water marks showing the surge got north of Interstate 10.

Nate, 2017

Nate made its final landfall near Biloxi at 0520 UTC on October 8, 2017 with winds of 65 kt. Inundation reached 6 to 9 ft above ground near and east of the landfall point, and NHC estimates about 9 ft along the immediate coast near Biloxi and Ocean Springs. No U.S. deaths were directly tied to Nate. FEMA's DR-4350 followed.

Gordon, 2018, and Zeta, 2020

Tropical Storm Gordon came ashore between the Alabama-Mississippi border and Pascagoula around 0315 UTC on September 5, 2018 with 60 kt winds.

Zeta's center crossed into southern Mississippi on the night of October 28, 2020, after landfall in Louisiana, and produced 6 to 10 ft of surge inundation along the Mississippi coast, especially in the back bays. A USGS gauge on Old Fort Bayou in Ocean Springs reached 9.5 ft above mean higher high water, the Bay Waveland gauge 8.2 ft and the Pascagoula gauge 7.1 ft. A WeatherFlow station in Gulfport measured 74 kt sustained with an 88 kt gust. NHC says the worst damage in the state was in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties, most extreme in Harrison County, where one man drowned in the surge near a Biloxi marina. The major disaster declaration was DR-4576.

Most recently, FEMA declared DR-4930 for Tropical Storm Arthur on August 3, 2026, covering Hancock and Harrison counties for an incident that began on June 18.

Hail and tornadoes

NOAA's Storm Events Database records, for 2016 through 2025, 24 hail events of 1 inch or larger in Jackson County, half of them 1.75 inches or larger, and 27 such events in Harrison County. Harrison County also logged 25 tornadoes and Hancock County 21. Recent 2-inch stones fell near Wool Market in Harrison County in May 2022 and near Harleston in Jackson County in April 2023.

Strengthen Mississippi Homes

Senate Bill 2409, passed in 2026, lets the Mississippi Insurance Department run a FORTIFIED Roof grant program starting July 1, 2026. For the first phase, the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association is providing $2 million, and grants of up to $10,000 go to primary, single-family, owner-occupied homes insured through the wind pool for three consecutive policy years. The Department anticipates a statewide rollout for other homeowners in early 2027, funded by fees on insurance companies.

The program page sets the details. Selections are made by lottery from eligible wind pool policyholders; condominiums, duplexes, mobile homes and manufactured homes are not eligible; and the homeowner pays the FORTIFIED evaluator directly. After the evaluation, you pick three contractors from the program's list to bid, you need the award letter before work starts, and payment goes to the contractor once the certificate is issued.

The standard is the notable part. The roof must earn the FORTIFIED Home Roof, High Wind designation with the Hail Supplement, which adds impact-rated roof coverings to the wind requirements. IBHS also notes that the wind pool offers policyholders a free FORTIFIED endorsement that pays extra toward a FORTIFIED Roof when a covered claim leads to a roof replacement. How that compares with codes abroad is on our standards comparison.

Roofers are listed on the National Roofing Directory in Gulfport and Biloxi; listings for the coastal cities this site covers follow:

Frequently asked questions

How high was Katrina's storm surge on the Mississippi coast?

NHC puts it at about 24 to 28 ft across a 20-mile swath centered on St. Louis Bay, with the highest mark, 27.8 ft, at Pass Christian.

Who can get a Strengthen Mississippi Homes grant in 2026?

For now, homeowners of primary, single-family residences who are currently insured by the wind pool and have been for three consecutive policy years. Other homeowners are expected to become eligible in a statewide rollout in early 2027.

Does the Mississippi grant require hail-resistant roofing?

Yes. The program requires the FORTIFIED Home Roof, High Wind designation with the Hail Supplement, so the roof covering has to meet IBHS's hail requirements as well as its wind rules.

Where can I check Mississippi's roofing rules and storm alerts?

The National Roofing Directory's Mississippi roofing licensing page covers the license rules, and its Mississippi storm center tracks active storms.