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Louisiana

The recorded hazard history of every county in Louisiana: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

Louisiana has 32,679 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 64 counties, led by damaging wind: 75.6 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 1,332 deaths and 3,706 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $96B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Orleans, Caddo and Jefferson.

FEMA lists 111 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Tropical Storm Arthur (30 Jun 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 485,743 flood claims since 1978, $21B paid; 359,013 residential policies are in force.

1,099events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

32,679events since 195075.6 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)

111disaster declarations since 1953last 30 Jun 2026

485,743NFIP flood claims$21B paid

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. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

Measure	Louisiana	US
Recorded events since 1950	32,679	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	75.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	70.7	59.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI	1,332	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$96B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	105.0	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$54K	$43K
Residential flood policies in force	359,013	3,139,862

Hazard mix

Wind12,865

Hail6,412

Flood3,330

Tornado2,801

Heat2,491

Drought1,418

Tropical1,195

Winter1,092

Lightning437

Other311

Cold276

Wildfire27

Fog24

Hazard	Events	Share of US	Deaths
■ Wind	12,865	1.8%	56
■ Hail	6,412	1.5%	—
■ Flood	3,330	1.8%	39
■ Tornado	2,801	3.4%	180
■ Heat	2,491	4.4%	68
■ Drought	1,418	1.7%	—
■ Tropical	1,195	10.7%	887
■ Winter	1,092	0.4%	28
■ Lightning	437	2.4%	39
■ Other	311	0.7%	1
■ Cold	276	0.5%	22
■ Wildfire	27	0.3%	—
■ Fog	24	0.1%	12

Events by decade

Hail: 20Tornado: 151Wind: 58

Hail: 116Tornado: 176Wind: 229

Hail: 249Tornado: 316Wind: 587

Hail: 853Tornado: 337Wind: 1318

Hail: 1666Tornado: 406Flood: 363Wind: 2855Winter: 75Tropical: 92Heat: 13Cold: 60Drought: 156Lightning: 90Fog: 15Other: 24

Hail: 1565Tornado: 441Flood: 787Wind: 2821Winter: 194Tropical: 560Heat: 77Cold: 1Drought: 76Wildfire: 1Lightning: 195Fog: 6Other: 127

Hail: 1173Tornado: 558Flood: 1138Wind: 2787Winter: 522Tropical: 244Heat: 502Cold: 67Drought: 566Wildfire: 18Lightning: 119Fog: 1Other: 115

Hail: 770Tornado: 416Flood: 1042Wind: 2210Winter: 301Tropical: 299Heat: 1899Cold: 148Drought: 620Wildfire: 8Lightning: 33Fog: 2Other: 45

2291950s5211960s1,1521970s2,5081980s5,8151990s6,8512000s7,8102010s7,7932020s

Recorded events in Louisiana by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

County	Events	Last 12 mo	Per 100 sq mi	Per 10k residents	Dominant	Tornadoes	Hail	Declarations	NFIP claims	NRI risk
Orleans Parish	545	11	321.5	14.5	Flood	25	37	39	127,255	Relatively High
Caddo Parish	2,132	61	242.4	91.5	Wind	109	641	35	2,438	Relatively Moderate
Jefferson Parish	503	7	167.1	11.6	Wind	66	75	50	135,664	Relatively High
Ouachita Parish	1,004	44	164.5	63.2	Wind	47	256	44	6,984	Relatively Moderate
Bossier Parish	1,334	60	158.9	103.3	Wind	75	399	36	1,107	Relatively Moderate
East Baton Rouge Parish	713	32	156.5	15.7	Wind	46	111	47	22,575	Relatively High
Webster Parish	910	28	153.4	251.5	Wind	60	253	37	223	Relatively Low
Lafayette Parish	391	7	145.4	16.0	Wind	42	78	43	6,579	Relatively High
Lincoln Parish	641	25	135.9	133.1	Wind	29	158	35	56	Relatively Low
St. Charles Parish	363	23	130.7	69.4	Wind	27	50	52	7,568	Relatively Moderate
Red River Parish	498	23	128.0	658.4	Wind	24	87	32	16	Very Low
West Carroll Parish	407	9	113.2	424.2	Wind	33	104	31	63	Very Low
Calcasieu Parish	1,028	23	96.6	50.1	Wind	114	226	42	10,386	Relatively High
St. Tammany Parish	802	38	94.9	29.8	Wind	74	98	50	38,420	Relatively High
Union Parish	816	29	93.1	386.9	Wind	57	191	36	380	Relatively Low
De Soto Parish	801	23	91.4	297.6	Wind	77	193	33	39	Very Low
Jackson Parish	519	17	91.2	348.9	Wind	42	110	27	20	Very Low
St. John the Baptist Parish	194	6	90.5	46.1	Wind	20	7	46	8,979	Relatively Moderate
West Baton Rouge Parish	168	4	87.3	60.4	Wind	11	25	38	285	Very Low
East Carroll Parish	367	7	87.2	508.3	Wind	30	77	32	116	Very Low
Franklin Parish	518	6	83.0	263.4	Wind	32	130	42	320	Very Low
Richland Parish	461	11	83.0	232.8	Wind	40	114	36	473	Very Low
Bienville Parish	673	21	82.9	526.8	Wind	44	146	35	41	Very Low
Ascension Parish	236	6	81.4	18.4	Wind	23	39	66	6,783	Relatively Moderate
Grant Parish	515	24	80.1	231.6	Wind	32	88	37	438	Very Low
Caldwell Parish	421	19	79.5	439.9	Wind	21	73	38	490	Very Low
Claiborne Parish	599	30	79.4	426.7	Wind	33	134	34	68	Very Low
Sabine Parish	662	28	76.4	299.1	Wind	43	171	33	40	Relatively Low
Morehouse Parish	578	6	72.7	231.0	Wind	48	153	35	239	Relatively Low
Natchitoches Parish	903	34	72.0	243.9	Wind	68	207	41	541	Relatively Low
Tangipahoa Parish	530	34	67.0	39.2	Wind	79	72	48	4,296	Relatively Moderate
Livingston Parish	432	15	66.7	29.6	Wind	43	82	52	14,639	Relatively High
St. James Parish	158	10	66.4	80.0	Wind	12	13	44	342	Relatively Low
Madison Parish	403	6	64.6	411.3	Wind	65	88	33	250	Very Low
Acadia Parish	410	6	62.6	71.6	Wind	90	64	42	1,481	Relatively Moderate
Winn Parish	594	30	62.5	440.4	Wind	43	110	33	140	Very Low
Tensas Parish	367	10	60.9	907.7	Wind	29	89	29	161	Very Low
Rapides Parish	728	26	55.1	56.6	Wind	84	171	49	4,231	Relatively Moderate
Washington Parish	366	15	54.7	81.1	Wind	37	54	41	674	Relatively Moderate
Pointe Coupee Parish	297	14	53.3	145.9	Wind	21	37	47	1,896	Relatively Low
Catahoula Parish	376	15	53.1	427.0	Wind	37	74	45	1,627	Very Low
Concordia Parish	363	7	52.1	197.5	Wind	39	65	37	1,212	Very Low
West Feliciana Parish	201	7	49.8	129.7	Wind	9	24	44	370	Very Low
St. Landry Parish	457	11	49.5	55.7	Wind	73	68	46	976	Relatively Moderate
Jefferson Davis Parish	319	5	49.0	98.6	Wind	50	44	42	313	Relatively Low
Iberia Parish	279	3	48.6	40.4	Wind	28	42	43	2,891	Relatively Moderate
East Feliciana Parish	218	9	48.1	112.7	Wind	14	29	41	110	Relatively Low
Allen Parish	338	9	44.4	149.0	Wind	29	77	40	442	Relatively Low
St. Mary Parish	247	2	44.4	51.2	Wind	24	39	49	2,532	Relatively Moderate
Avoyelles Parish	367	13	44.1	93.5	Wind	55	68	42	1,652	Relatively Low
Beauregard Parish	499	15	43.1	136.4	Wind	61	105	43	516	Relatively Low
Assumption Parish	148	4	43.0	71.5	Wind	22	13	49	883	Relatively Low
St. Helena Parish	173	5	42.3	158.5	Wind	21	16	39	65	Very Low
Evangeline Parish	276	7	41.7	85.7	Wind	43	45	35	286	Relatively Low
LaSalle Parish	250	9	40.0	168.5	Wind	25	63	38	271	Very Low
Iberville Parish	239	4	38.6	80.1	Wind	22	42	47	618	Relatively Low
Vernon Parish	450	7	33.9	93.7	Wind	61	110	39	338	Relatively Low
St. Bernard Parish	123	2	32.6	27.8	Wind	16	17	48	23,919	Relatively Low
Vermilion Parish	320	1	27.3	55.9	Wind	62	58	46	4,799	Relatively Moderate
Cameron Parish	348	0	27.1	685.0	Wind	68	52	39	3,470	Very Low
St. Martin Parish	191	3	25.9	37.1	Wind	25	39	54	1,466	Relatively Moderate
Lafourche Parish	244	5	22.9	25.0	Wind	42	37	54	6,203	Relatively Moderate
Terrebonne Parish	276	21	22.4	25.4	Wind	45	34	53	13,501	Relatively Moderate
Plaquemines Parish	173	1	22.2	74.2	Wind	35	27	45	6,086	Relatively Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

County	Claims, last 10 years	Policies in force	Claims per 100 policies	Claims since 1978	Paid
St. John the Baptist Parish	3,999	5,448	73.4	8,979	$655M
Cameron Parish	625	910	68.7	3,470	$210M
Allen Parish	111	292	38.0	442	$9.5M
Calcasieu Parish	4,202	11,641	36.1	10,386	$324M
Beauregard Parish	94	291	32.3	516	$8.8M
Morehouse Parish	44	155	28.4	239	$6.9M
Avoyelles Parish	202	752	26.9	1,652	$18M
Vernon Parish	64	248	25.8	338	$9.4M
Rapides Parish	656	2,688	24.4	4,231	$68M
Grant Parish	31	152	20.4	438	$5.3M
Evangeline Parish	96	472	20.3	286	$6.4M
Catahoula Parish	107	564	19.0	1,627	$15M
Tangipahoa Parish	1,147	6,827	16.8	4,296	$178M
St. Charles Parish	1,615	9,907	16.3	7,568	$161M
Washington Parish	79	498	15.9	674	$16M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026

Declarations touching Louisiana by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.

Incident type	Declarations
Hurricane	38
Flood	29
Severe Storm	15
Fire	5
Coastal Storm	5
Tornado	5
Severe Ice Storm	3
Biological	3
Winter Storm	2
Other	2

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
30 Jun 2026	DR-4927	Major disaster	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Arthur	9
18 Feb 2026	DR-4900	Major disaster	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	18
24 Jan 2026	EM-3638	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	64
16 Sep 2024	DR-4817	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Francine	22
10 Sep 2024	EM-3614	Emergency	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Francine	64
27 Sep 2023	EM-3600	Emergency	Other	Seawater Intrusion	5
30 Aug 2023	FM-5486	Fire management assistance	Fire	Highway 113 Fire	2
27 Aug 2023	FM-5485	Fire management assistance	Fire	Lions Camp Road Fire	1
25 Aug 2023	FM-5484	Fire management assistance	Fire	Ida Fire	1
23 Aug 2023	FM-5482	Fire management assistance	Fire	Tiger Island Fire	1
13 Sep 2021	EM-3574	Emergency	Coastal Storm	Tropical Storm Nicholas	64
29 Aug 2021	DR-4611	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ida	64
27 Aug 2021	EM-3568	Emergency	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Ida	64
2 Jun 2021	DR-4606	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	7
9 Mar 2021	DR-4590	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms	64

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026

NFIP claims in Louisiana by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

485,743 claims, 388,590 paid, $21B in total; 30,692 repetitive-loss and 5,430 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Louisiana with flood claims (522).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1950

Questions and answers

Which Louisiana counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Calcasieu (114), Caddo (109) and Acadia (90), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which Louisiana counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Jefferson (135,664), Orleans (127,255) and St. Tammany (38,420) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has Louisiana had?

111 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 3 of them in 2026 so far.

How does Louisiana compare with the national rate?

75.6 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 105.0 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.