FEMA Records
45
Very high volume
Louisiana · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Catahoula Parish, LA
45 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 45
- FEMA declarations
- 27
- Major disasters
- 17
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Catahoula Parish. Its 45 FEMA declarations are 9% above the Louisiana county mean and exceed the count for 98% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it safer than 17%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Safer than 17%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 45
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 1,627
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records; an EM authorizes a narrower set of federal assistance than a DR.
How does Catahoula Parish compare?
Catahoula Parish vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
45 Top 2% higher than 98% 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
Catahoula 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 Catahoula Parish is led by Riverine Flooding (about $1.1M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very Low), while Drought carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate). 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 Catahoula Parish's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 1,627 claims and $14.7M 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 $9.0K. 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. Catahoula Parish's 45 federal records stand 9% 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.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 45 entries for Catahoula Parish, including 27 Major Disaster records, 9% above the Louisiana county mean. Across the 61-year span, that works out to 0.7 declarations a year. Hurricane leads the file with 18 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county's FEMA National Risk Index composite lands at 17.0/100 (Very Low), a modest reading against the rest of the country. Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $4.0M in annualized losses), tempered or compounded by a Very High social-vulnerability score and Relatively Moderate community-resilience score. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Drought carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at 24 modeled event-days per year here, based on 714 historical events on record.
79 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Catahoula 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
45 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.2x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
14/25
45 declarations (1.1x state county average of 41)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
27 of 45 declarations are major disasters (60%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Catahoula Parish
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Louisiana Avg
+9%
State avg: 41.4
vs. National Avg
+117%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.7
Over 61 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Catahoula 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
60%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
17
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Catahoula 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 24 modeled event-days per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 12 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 18 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 2.5 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 2.5 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 738 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 5 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 72 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 3,091 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | an average of 2 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 18
Flood 11
Severe Storm 6
Coastal Storm 3
Winter Storm 2
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Tornado 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Catahoula Parish's federal record, 40% 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 - 27 60.0%
of all 45 declarations
Emergency - 18 40.0%
of all 45 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 8 | |
| 2020 | 6 | |
| 2019 | 3 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 4 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
Show 8 earlier declaration years
| 1991 | 2 | |
| 1988 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1975 | 2 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 45 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 45 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4900 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Winter Storm | 2026-02-18 |
| 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 |
| 4590 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-03-09 |
| 3556 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-18 |
| 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 |
| 4462 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2019-09-19 |
| 3416 | TROPICAL STORM BARRY | EM | Coastal Storm | 2019-07-11 |
| 3413 | FLOODING | EM | Flood | 2019-05-29 |
Show 25 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4263 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-03-13 |
| 4102 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-02-22 |
| 4080 | HURRICANE ISAAC | DR | Hurricane | 2012-08-29 |
| 4015 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2011-08-18 |
| 3322 | FLOODING | EM | Flood | 2011-05-06 |
| 1863 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-12-10 |
| 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 |
| 1437 | HURRICANE LILI | DR | Hurricane | 2002-10-03 |
| 1264 | SEVERE ICE STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 1999-01-21 |
| 904 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1991-05-03 |
| 902 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1991-04-23 |
| 804 | TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Tornado | 1987-11-30 |
| 675 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1983-01-11 |
| 584 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1979-05-02 |
| 470 | HEAVY RAINS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1975-06-06 |
| 3011 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | EM | Flood | 1975-04-12 |
| 418 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-02-23 |
| 374 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-04-27 |
| 208 | HURRICANE BETSY | DR | Hurricane | 1965-09-10 |
Storm Events in Louisiana
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Catahoula 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
1,627
Total Paid
$14.7M
Avg Per Claim
$9.0K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 17.0/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$4.0M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Drought Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Low
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Winter Weather Very 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: Drought
Drought is the slowest of the modeled hazards and the least visible: it does its damage to agriculture, water supply and soil over seasons rather than hours, so it rarely produces the kind of single-day damage that drives a disaster declaration. FEMA scores it in event-days per year rather than discrete events for exactly that reason.
Worth noting for Catahoula Parish: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Drought carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), 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
Catahoula Parish's closest FEMA peer: Pottawatomie County, OK
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Catahoula Parish. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Catahoula Parish shows 45 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Catahoula Parish: 27 of 45 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Catahoula Parish: NRI composite 17.0 (Very Low).
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 Catahoula Parish - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Catahoula Parish's NFIP claims file (1,627 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 Catahoula Parish?
The most common disaster type in Catahoula Parish is Hurricane, with 18 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (11), Severe Storm (6), Coastal Storm (3).
How does Catahoula Parish's FEMA declaration record compare with the Louisiana average?
FEMA lists 45 declaration records for Catahoula Parish. That is 9% above the Louisiana county mean of 41.4. Its count is also 117% 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 Catahoula Parish received?
Catahoula Parish has received 27 major disaster declarations, representing 60% of all 45 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Catahoula Parish filed?
Catahoula Parish has 1,627 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $14.7M in payments, with an average of $9.0K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Catahoula Parish?
No. In Catahoula Parish, Drought has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $1.1M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Catahoula Parish?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Catahoula Parish was 2021, with 8 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Catahoula Parish?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana has an overall risk score of 17.0 out of 100 (Very Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Very High; on community resilience, Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $4.0M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Catahoula Parish?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Catahoula Parish as of the latest release is Drought (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Hurricane (Relatively Low) and Heat Wave (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts drought here at 24 modeled event-days per year, drawn from 714 historical events on record. FEMA derives these ratings from historical event frequency, the assets exposed, and the community's vulnerability profile.
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 Catahoula Parish
Catahoula Parish, LA has 45 federal declaration records, 9% 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 27 of 45 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 98% 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.