FEMA Records
42
Very high volume
Louisiana · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Calcasieu Parish, LA
42 FEMA disaster declarations (1972-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 42
- FEMA declarations
- 23
- Major disasters
- 96
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Calcasieu Parish. Its 42 FEMA declarations are 2% above the Louisiana county mean and exceed the count for 97% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 4%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 4%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 42
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 10,386
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Fire Management Assistance (FM) records, which are not presidential disaster declarations, alongside Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records.
How does Calcasieu Parish compare?
Calcasieu Parish vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
42 Top 3% higher than 97% of 3,266 counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-03
Calcasieu Parish's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Louisiana county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Calcasieu Parish is led by Hurricane (about $71.0M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Lightning carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High). EAL and risk score use different inputs; they need not agree.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025 release) - Expected Annual Loss vs composite risk rating by hazard.
What does Calcasieu Parish's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 10,386 claims and $323.7M in payments. PlainHazard labels 500 or more claims a heavy registry record; that is a reporting bucket, not an official FEMA risk grade. The average paid claim was $31.2K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Calcasieu Parish's 42 federal records stand 2% above the Louisiana county mean of 41.4. That comparison describes how often federal action was recorded, including any Major Disaster, Emergency, and Fire Management entries shown on this page; it does not convert the count into future probability.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 95.7/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $163.6M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively High and community resilience Relatively Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Lightning stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 81 times per year here, based on 406,485 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 42 entries for Calcasieu Parish, including 23 Major Disaster records, 2% above the Louisiana county mean. Across the 54-year span, that works out to 0.8 declarations a year. Hurricane leads the file with 23 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
77 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Calcasieu Parish, LA · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite from FEMA declaration history only on the county surface (this DB has no county-level NOAA damage row) . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) Very High
30/30
42 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.0x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
13/25
42 declarations (1.0x state county average of 41)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
23 of 42 declarations are major disasters (55%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
9 different disaster types declared in Calcasieu Parish
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Louisiana Avg
+2%
State avg: 41.4
vs. National Avg
+103%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.8
Over 54 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Calcasieu Parish
How to read this radar
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
Major Disaster share
55%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
96
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Calcasieu Parish?
FEMA's National Risk Index models a historical event count and an annualized frequency for each hazard type. Most hazards are expressed as modeled occurrences per year; FEMA expresses drought and heat-wave frequency as event-days per year. These modeled frequencies are not forecasts.
| Hazard | NRI Risk Rating | Recurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Lightning | Very High | an average of 81 times per year |
| Hurricane | Very High | roughly once every 7 years |
| Tornado | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 3.4 times per year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.5 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 248 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 9.8 modeled event-days per year |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 26 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 3.7 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1,383 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 9 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 23
Flood 7
Coastal Storm 3
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Severe Storm 2
Winter Storm 1
Other 1
Fire 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Calcasieu Parish's federal record, 55% of its declarations. Atlantic tropical systems run on a defined season, 1 June to 30 November, with most activity concentrated between August and October; Pacific and territorial basins run on their own calendars. A single named storm routinely produces one declaration number covering a long corridor of counties at once, well inland as well as on the coast, which is why an affected county's count can jump by several in one year without several separate events having occurred.
One practical distinction matters when reading these records: a tropical declaration usually bundles wind, storm surge and inland rainfall flooding under a single incident, but the insurance behind them is split. Wind damage falls to property insurers, while flood and surge damage is covered only under a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy. That is why a county can show heavy declaration activity and a comparatively small NFIP claims record, or the reverse.
Declaration counts describe past federal action. They are a record of what was declared, not a forecast of future hazard probability.
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster - 23 54.8%
of all 42 declarations
Emergency - 18 42.9%
of all 42 declarations
Fire Management - 1 2.4%
of all 42 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 10 | |
| 2020 | 6 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 4 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 4 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
Show 5 earlier declaration years
| 1989 | 2 | |
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 42 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 42 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3638 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-24 |
| 3614 | TROPICAL STORM FRANCINE | EM | Hurricane | 2024-09-10 |
| 3574 | TROPICAL STORM NICHOLAS | EM | Coastal Storm | 2021-09-13 |
| 4611 | HURRICANE IDA | DR | Hurricane | 2021-08-29 |
| 3568 | TROPICAL STORM IDA | EM | Hurricane | 2021-08-27 |
| 4606 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2021-06-02 |
| 4590 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-03-09 |
| 3556 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-18 |
| 4577 | HURRICANE ZETA | DR | Hurricane | 2021-01-12 |
| 3549 | TROPICAL STORM ZETA | EM | Hurricane | 2020-10-27 |
| 4570 | HURRICANE DELTA | DR | Hurricane | 2020-10-16 |
| 3547 | HURRICANE DELTA | EM | Hurricane | 2020-10-07 |
| 3543 | HURRICANE SALLY | EM | Hurricane | 2020-09-14 |
| 4559 | HURRICANE LAURA | DR | Hurricane | 2020-08-28 |
| 3538 | TROPICAL STORMS LAURA AND MARCO | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-23 |
| 3527 | TROPICAL STORM CRISTOBAL | EM | Coastal Storm | 2020-06-07 |
| 4484 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-24 |
| 3459 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3416 | TROPICAL STORM BARRY | EM | Coastal Storm | 2019-07-11 |
| 4345 | TROPICAL STORM HARVEY | DR | Hurricane | 2017-10-16 |
Show 22 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3382 | TROPICAL STORM HARVEY | EM | Hurricane | 2017-08-28 |
| 4263 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-03-13 |
| 1792 | HURRICANE IKE | DR | Hurricane | 2008-09-13 |
| 3295 | HURRICANE IKE | EM | Hurricane | 2008-09-11 |
| 1786 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | DR | Hurricane | 2008-09-02 |
| 3289 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM | Hurricane | 2008-08-29 |
| 1668 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-11-02 |
| 1607 | HURRICANE RITA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-09-24 |
| 3260 | HURRICANE RITA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-21 |
| 1603 | HURRICANE KATRINA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-08-29 |
| 3212 | HURRICANE KATRINA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-08-27 |
| 3172 | LOSS OF SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA | EM | Other | 2003-02-01 |
| 1437 | HURRICANE LILI | DR | Hurricane | 2002-10-03 |
| 2337 | LA-WESTERN LOUISIANA FIRE COMPLEX-9/8/00 | FM | Fire | 2000-09-11 |
| 1169 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-03-18 |
| 956 | HURRICANE ANDREW | DR | Hurricane | 1992-08-26 |
| 835 | TROPICAL STORM ALLISON | DR | Flood | 1989-07-17 |
| 829 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1989-05-20 |
| 675 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1983-01-11 |
| 622 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1980-05-21 |
| 604 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1979-09-25 |
| 315 | HURRICANE EDITH | DR | Hurricane | 1971-10-13 |
Storm Events in Louisiana
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Calcasieu Parish.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 3,274 | 12 | 29 | $24.9M |
| Flash Flood | 1,516 | 20 | 17 | $3.9B |
| Hail | 1,224 | 0 | 0 | $49.3M |
| Excessive Heat | 1,183 | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Heat | 1,106 | 5 | 0 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
10,386
Total Paid
$323.7M
Avg Per Claim
$31.2K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 95.7/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$163.6M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Lightning Very High
Hurricane Very High
Tornado Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Hail Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively High
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively High
Coastal Flooding Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
The model's sharpest exposure here: Lightning
Lightning is modeled as a high-frequency, low-per-event hazard: strike counts are large, but each strike affects a very small area. Its aggregate cost accumulates through structure fires, electrical and electronic damage, and it is one of the few hazards whose risk is essentially continuous through the season rather than episodic.
Worth noting for Calcasieu Parish: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Lightning carries the highest modeled rating (Very High), while the county's declaration history is led by Hurricane. That is not a contradiction, the two measure genuinely different things. Declarations record federal ACTION, which requires damage costly enough to exceed state and local capacity; the Risk Index models EXPECTED annual loss across all 18 hazards whether or not any declaration ever followed. A hazard can be the county's largest modeled exposure and never once have driven a declaration.
National Risk Index ratings are modeled estimates of expected annual loss, not predictions of what will happen in any given year.
Data-matched county comparisons
Calcasieu Parish's closest FEMA peer: Orange County, CA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Calcasieu Parish. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Calcasieu Parish shows 42 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Calcasieu Parish: 23 of 42 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Calcasieu Parish: NRI composite 95.7 (Relatively High).
How these peers are chosen
Cohort: Published U.S. county equivalents outside the source state or territory. Each metric keeps six ETL candidates; three unique destinations are shown after de-duplicating across axes. Declaration-volume ranking combines count and Major-disaster share and prefers a different leading incident type; Major-share ranks the Major fraction adjusted for volume; NRI ranks the modeled composite score only.
Retained FEMA snapshot feed for Calcasieu Parish - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Calcasieu Parish's NFIP claims file (10,386 claims) and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records - this guide separates them from modeled NRI risk.
More PlainHazard guides
- Most disaster-prone counties - U.S. counties ranked by FEMA declaration totals.
- Understanding disaster data - declarations vs storm events vs NRI scores.
- Preparing for natural disasters - household checklist (not county-specific advice).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Calcasieu Parish?
The most common disaster type in Calcasieu Parish is Hurricane, with 23 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (7), Coastal Storm (3), Severe Ice Storm (2).
How does Calcasieu Parish's FEMA declaration record compare with the Louisiana average?
FEMA lists 42 declaration records for Calcasieu Parish. That is 2% above the Louisiana county mean of 41.4. Its count is also 103% above the national county mean of 20.7. A larger declaration history records more federal actions; it is not a forecast of the county's next hazard.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Calcasieu Parish received?
Calcasieu Parish has received 23 major disaster declarations, representing 55% of all 42 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Calcasieu Parish filed?
Calcasieu Parish has 10,386 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $323.7M in payments, with an average of $31.2K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Calcasieu Parish?
No. In Calcasieu Parish, Lightning has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Hurricane leads Expected Annual Loss at about $71.0M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Calcasieu Parish?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Calcasieu Parish was 2021, with 10 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1972 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Calcasieu Parish?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana has an overall risk score of 95.7 out of 100 (Relatively High). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively High; on community resilience, Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $163.6M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Calcasieu Parish?
FEMA's NRI data points to Calcasieu Parish as of the latest release is Lightning (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Hurricane (Very High) and Tornado (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts lightning here at an average of 81 times per year, drawn from 406,485 historical events on record. These scores are based on FEMA's analysis of historical event frequency, exposed assets, and community vulnerability.
Data Sources & Methodology
Disaster declaration data comes from the FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 API, which includes all federally declared disasters, emergencies, and fire management assistance grants.
Storm event data is sourced from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025), which tracks significant weather events including thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, and winter storms.
Flood insurance data comes from the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA claims dataset.
This data is provided for informational purposes only. FEMA disaster declarations represent federal response actions and may not capture all local emergencies or weather events.
What this means for Calcasieu Parish
Calcasieu Parish, LA has 42 federal declaration records, 2% more than the Louisiana county mean of 41; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 23 of 42 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. Louisiana overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the Louisiana mean and the totals for 97% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- The large NFIP claims file and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records; the guide explains where they overlap and where they do not. Disaster-data guide
An above-average declaration count records past federal responses; it does not predict the next event. Current warnings come from the National Weather Service and local emergency officials.
PlainHazard derives this profile from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries and National Risk Index data. The declaration comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 - all federally-declared disasters for this county. fema.gov/openfema/disaster-declarations
- FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) - per-county per-hazard risk ratings and expected annual loss. hazards.fema.gov/nri
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database - state-level storm/severe-weather event records, 2015-2025. ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.