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Tensas Parish, Louisiana

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 22107 · 4,043 residents (2021) · 603 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 89Tornado · 29Flood · 28Wind · 176Winter · 15

Tensas Parish within Louisiana. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 367 events for Tensas Parish, Louisiana, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 60.9 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Louisiana figure of 75.6, and 907.7 per 10,000 residents against 70.7 statewide.

10 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 0 deaths and 13 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $37M and crop damage at $56M.

FEMA has designated the county in 29 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm (major disaster, 18 Feb 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 161 claims since 1978, of which 129 were paid, totalling $2.9M (about $23K per paid claim). FEMA counts 262 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($3.6M a year across 18 hazards).

37 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 2 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

10events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

367events since 19500 deaths, 13 injuries recorded

29disaster declarationslast 18 Feb 2026

161NFIP flood claims$2.9M paid

Compared with Louisiana and the United States

Measure	Tensas Parish	Louisiana	US
Recorded events since 1950	367	32,679	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	60.9	75.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	907.7	70.7	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	10	1,099	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	0	1,332	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$37M	$96B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	39.8	105.0	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$23K	$54K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	0.0	10.0	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Wind: 1

Tornado: 1

Hail: 1Tornado: 2Wind: 2

Hail: 25Tornado: 7Wind: 22

Hail: 30Tornado: 9Flood: 2Wind: 39Winter: 2

Hail: 19Tornado: 5Flood: 16Wind: 44Tropical: 3Heat: 3Drought: 1

Hail: 11Tornado: 5Flood: 9Wind: 42Winter: 8Tropical: 1Heat: 1Cold: 1Drought: 9Lightning: 1Other: 1

Hail: 3Flood: 1Wind: 26Winter: 5Tropical: 1Cold: 1Drought: 7

11950s11960s51970s541980s821990s912000s892010s442020s

Recorded events in Tensas Parish by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 170 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 152 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind176

Hail89

Tornado29

Flood28

Drought17

Winter15

Tropical5

Heat4

Cold2

Lightning1

Other1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	176	—	1.4%	detail
■ Hail	89	—	1.4%	detail
■ Tornado	29	—	1.0%	detail
■ Flood	28	—	0.8%	detail
■ Drought	17	—	1.2%
■ Winter	15	—	1.4%	detail
■ Tropical	5	—	0.4%
■ Heat	4	—	0.2%
■ Cold	2	—	0.7%
■ Lightning	1	—	0.2%
■ Other	1	—	0.3%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
21 Nov 1992	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	6	County
2 Sep 2008	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$10M	$34M	—	—	County
24 Sep 2005	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$1.0M	$100K	—	2	County
11 Nov 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	$50K	—	—	2	County
4 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$4.0M	—	—	1	County
29 Aug 2005	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$1.0M	$10M	—	—	Forecast zone
3 Mar 1966	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$3K	—	—	1	County
7 Mar 1995	Tornado	Tornado	F2	—	—	—	1	County
8 May 2011	Flood	Flood	—	$5.0M	$300K	—	—	County
1 Apr 1983	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
3 Sep 2008	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	$2.0M	—	—	County
1 Sep 2008	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$1.0M	$300K	—	—	Forecast zone
24 Sep 2005	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$200K	$800K	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Aug 2023	Drought	Drought	—	—	$1.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Sep 2023	Drought	Drought	—	—	$1.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
25 Sep 2005	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$100K	$800K	—	—	County
14 May 2006	Hail	Hail	2.50 in	$30K	$700K	—	—	County
1 Oct 2006	Drought	Drought	—	—	$700K	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Jul 2010	Drought	Drought	—	—	$700K	—	—	Forecast zone
3 Feb 2006	Hail	Hail	1.75 in	$600K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
18 Feb 2026	DR-4900	Major disaster	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
24 Jan 2026	EM-3638	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
10 Sep 2024	EM-3614	Emergency	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Francine	Public assistance
13 Sep 2021	EM-3574	Emergency	Coastal Storm	Tropical Storm Nicholas	Public assistance
29 Aug 2021	DR-4611	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ida	Public assistance
27 Aug 2021	EM-3568	Emergency	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Ida	Public assistance
9 Mar 2021	DR-4590	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms	Public assistance
18 Feb 2021	EM-3556	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
27 Oct 2020	EM-3549	Emergency	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Zeta	Public assistance
16 Oct 2020	DR-4570	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Delta	Public assistance
7 Oct 2020	EM-3547	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Delta	Public assistance
14 Sep 2020	EM-3543	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sally	Public assistance
28 Aug 2020	DR-4559	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Laura	Public assistance
23 Aug 2020	EM-3538	Emergency	Hurricane	Tropical Storms Laura And Marco	Public assistance
7 Jun 2020	EM-3527	Emergency	Coastal Storm	Tropical Storm Cristobal	Public assistance
24 Mar 2020	DR-4484	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3459	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
29 Aug 2012	DR-4080	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Isaac	Public assistance
18 Aug 2011	DR-4015	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
6 May 2011	EM-3322	Emergency	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
2 Sep 2008	DR-1786	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Gustav	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 Aug 2008	EM-3289	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Gustav	Public assistance
2 Nov 2006	DR-1668	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	—
24 Sep 2005	DR-1607	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Rita	Public assistance
21 Sep 2005	EM-3260	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Rita	Public assistance
29 Aug 2005	DR-1603	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina	Public assistance
27 Aug 2005	EM-3212	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina	Public assistance
3 May 1991	DR-904	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 Apr 1973	DR-374	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Tensas Parish, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978161

Paid claims129

Total paid$2.9M

Average paid claim$23K

Repetitive-loss properties103 severe

Residential policies in force2628.1% of 3,240 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2014	2	1	$899	$899
2013	3	2	$171,121	$85,561
2012	1	0	$0	—
2011	25	22	$1,419,258	$64,512
2010	1	0	$0	—
2009	3	3	$33,610	$11,203
2008	16	16	$544,981	$34,061
2007	1	1	$4,958	$4,958
2005	4	3	$86,477	$28,826
2003	1	0	$0	—
2002	5	4	$40,481	$10,120
2001	3	1	$14,180	$14,180
1998	1	1	$10,388	$10,388
1997	13	11	$206,603	$18,782
1996	2	2	$16,169	$8,084
1995	7	6	$56,913	$9,486
1994	6	6	$68,778	$11,463
1993	3	3	$16,416	$5,472
1991	16	14	$63,317	$4,523
1990	9	6	$31,536	$5,256
1989	5	5	$11,594	$2,319
1985	1	1	$374	$374
1984	5	3	$20,479	$6,826
1983	12	10	$64,445	$6,445
1982	2	2	$13,833	$6,916

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskVery Lowscore 14.5 of 100

Expected annual loss$3.6MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$925,781
Inland flooding	Very Low	$672,134
Tornado	Relatively Low	$663,500
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$371,260
Hail	Relatively Low	$237,475
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$226,510
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$201,636
Cold wave	Very Low	$146,300
Earthquake	Very Low	$76,604
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$48,557
Lightning	Very Low	$33,453
Winter weather	Very Low	$1,794
Wildfire	Very Low	$1,238
Landslide	Very Low	$58

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles37

Tracks within 50 miles12

Hurricane strength within 50 miles2

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Ida	2021	43 mi	46 mph
Delta	2020	35 mi	58 mph
Olga	2019	82 mi	52 mph
Isaac	2012	59 mi	63 mph
Isidore	2002	91 mi	46 mph
Lili	2002	45 mi	46 mph
Andrew	1992	37 mi	58 mph
Danny	1985	39 mi	58 mph
Elena	1985	28 mi	69 mph
Bob	1979	97 mi	46 mph
Edith	1971	86 mi	46 mph
Camille	1969	85 mi	86 mph
Betsy	1965	50 mi	75 mph
Audrey	1957	85 mi	63 mph
Esther	1957	51 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1956	82 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	65 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1947	97 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	27 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	70 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1931	72 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1926	94 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	40 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1920	75 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	83 mi	52 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

71357 110
71366 32
71326 21
71375 13

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Tensas Parish, LA?

NCEI records 89 hail events in Tensas Parish since 1950, in 34 different years; that is about 1.2 recorded events a year. 26 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Tensas Parish had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 29 tornadoes in Tensas Parish since 1950, 12 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Tensas Parish?

18 Feb 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a major disaster declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 29 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Tensas Parish, and how much was paid?

161 NFIP claims since 1978, 129 of them paid, for $2.9M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Tensas Parish in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Very Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Very High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Tensas Parish compare with the rest of Louisiana?

60.9 recorded events per 100 square miles against 75.6 statewide, and 39.8 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 105.0. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.