Evangeline Parish, Louisiana

Parish storm and disaster record · FIPS 22039 · population 32,319 · 662 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 276 records for Evangeline Parish, Louisiana from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 226 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (115 records). The deadliest single record is the October 29, 2002 tornado: 2 deaths, 3 injuries and $164,000 in damage in 2025 dollars. FEMA has issued 35 declarations naming the county since 1971, 32 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm” on January 24, 2026.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $100,000
  • $100,000 or more
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more, or a death
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
  • 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
Storm records
276on 226 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
520 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$403Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
43strongest EF2
FEMA declarations
35latest 2026

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit Evangeline Parish most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 115 since 1969. The rank column places the county among Louisiana's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Evangeline Parish: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Severe thunderstorm wind 115 94 1969-2026 0 3 $4.9M 53 of 64
Hail 45 39 1963-2026 0 2 $36K 46 of 64
Tornadoes 43 38 1960-2026 4 14 $11M 25 of 64
Floods 28 28 1998-2026 0 0 $42M 32 of 64
Winter storms 15 15 2007-2025 0 0 $328K 37 of 64
Drought 8 8 1996-2023 0 0 $31M 50 of 64
Hurricanes and tropical storms 8 8 2002-2020 0 1 $313M 36 of 64
Heavy rain 4 4 2012-2013 0 0 – 13 of 64
Heat 3 3 2000-2023 0 0 – 54 of 64
Extreme cold 2 2 2010-2014 1 0 – 49 of 64
High wind and dust storms 2 2 2000-2002 0 0 $127K 39 of 64
Lightning 2 2 2004-2018 0 0 $176K 45 of 64
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 1 1 2013-2013 0 0 – 45 of 64

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Evangeline Parish had?

NOAA records 43 tornadoes in Evangeline Parish from 1960 to 2026, the strongest rated EF2, with 4 deaths and 14 injuries recorded in the county. That is 25th of 64 Louisiana counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 41 tornadoes whose track touched Evangeline Parish since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 43: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 4 people.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched Evangeline Parish, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
2008-09-03 01:57, as SPC files itMamouEF27.06 mi2
2002-10-29 02:45, as SPC files itChataignierF210.5 mi2

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Louisiana.

Every tornado record filed for Evangeline Parish (43)
Every tornado recorded in Evangeline Parish, newest first
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-02-14 Turkey Creek, Evangeline Parish EF1 3.28 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $10K
2026-02-14 Pine Prairie, Evangeline Parish EF1 0.42 mi x 75 yd 0 0 $15K
2024-12-28 St Landry, Evangeline Parish EF1 3.01 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $5K
2022-12-14 Tate Cove, Evangeline Parish EFU 0.01 mi x 1 yd 0 0 –
2022-06-30 Vidrine, Evangeline Parish EF0 0.05 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2020-05-17 Mamou, Evangeline Parish EF0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2020-05-08 Mamou, Evangeline Parish EF1 0.63 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $171K
2019-06-06 Basile, Evangeline Parish EF1 0.12 mi x 104 yd 0 0 $1K
2019-05-19 Pt Blue, Evangeline Parish EF1 9.07 mi x 400 yd 0 0 $173K
2019-05-19 Ville Platte, Evangeline Parish EF1 2.46 mi x 600 yd 0 0 $115K
2019-05-19 Mamou, Evangeline Parish EF0 0.23 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $6K
2018-10-31 Cypress Creek Setlmn, Evangeline Parish EF2 8.73 mi x 900 yd 0 0 $18K
2017-01-02 Mamou, Evangeline Parish EF0 0.54 mi x 25 yd 0 0 $90K
2014-02-20 Vidrine, Evangeline Parish EF1 2.65 mi x 75 yd 0 0 $62K
2013-10-31 Easton, Evangeline Parish EF0 0.49 mi x 75 yd 0 0 $4K
2009-12-24 Chataignier, Evangeline Parish EF0 0.56 mi x 25 yd 0 0 $3K
2008-09-12 Mamou, Evangeline Parish EF2 3.42 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $274K
2008-09-03 Basile, Evangeline Parish EF2 7.06 mi x 50 yd 2 2 $411K
2008-04-11 Chataignier, Evangeline Parish EF0 3.39 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $103K
2002-10-29 Chataignier, Evangeline Parish F2 5 mi x 50 yd 2 3 $164K
2002-10-03 Mamou, Evangeline Parish F0 1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $41K
2002-10-03 Turkey Creek, Evangeline Parish F0 1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $41K
2000-04-02 Mamou, Evangeline Parish F1 1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $86K
1998-09-11 Basile, Evangeline Parish F1 5 mi x 20 yd 0 3 $3.6M
1998-02-26 St Landry, Evangeline Parish F1 8 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $1.8M
1998-01-12 Easton, Evangeline Parish F1 1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $272K
1997-10-24 Basile, Evangeline Parish F1 1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $74K
1996-01-26 Chataignier, Evangeline Parish F1 1 mi x 20 yd 0 3 $28K
1995-05-18 Beaver, Evangeline Parish F1 0.5 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
1990-09-09 Evangeline Parish F1 0.3 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $3K step
1990-07-03 Evangeline Parish F1 0.2 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $3K step
1989-06-29 Evangeline Parish F1 0.2 mi x 27 yd 0 0 –
1982-09-11 Evangeline Parish F2 2.5 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $250K step
1977-05-01 Evangeline Parish F1 3.3 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $25K step
1975-08-05 Evangeline Parish F0 0 0 –
1975-08-05 Evangeline Parish F0 0 0 –
1975-05-02 Evangeline Parish F1 0.1 mi x 27 yd 0 0 $3K step
1975-04-30 Evangeline Parish F1 0.5 mi x 50 yd 0 3 $25K step
1974-03-20 Evangeline Parish F1 0.8 mi x 17 yd 0 0 $25K step
1974-02-21 Evangeline Parish F1 0.2 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $3K step
1973-03-24 Evangeline Parish F1 7.4 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $250K step
1970-05-24 Evangeline Parish F2 5.2 mi x 417 yd 0 0 $25K step
1960-06-09 Evangeline Parish F1 1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $25K step

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Evangeline Parish?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the February 14, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($1,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The 12 most recent records kept for Evangeline Parish
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-05-08 HailPt Blue, Evangeline Parish 0.88 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-08 Flash FloodBasile, Evangeline Parish 0 0 –
2026-03-15 HailBeaver, Evangeline Parish 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-03-07 Flash FloodVille Platte, Evangeline Parish 0 0 –
2026-02-14 Thunderstorm WindBayou Chicot, Evangeline Parish 50 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2026-02-14 TornadoTurkey Creek, Evangeline Parish EF1 3.28 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $10K
2026-02-14 TornadoPine Prairie, Evangeline Parish EF1 0.42 mi x 75 yd 0 0 $15K
2025-05-27 Thunderstorm WindPine Prairie, Evangeline Parish 50 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2025-05-06 Flash FloodVille Platte, Evangeline Parish 0 0 –
2025-03-31 Flash FloodMamou, Evangeline Parish 0 0 –
2025-01-21 Winter StormEvangeline Parish · forecast zone Evangeline 0 0 –
2024-12-28 TornadoSt Landry, Evangeline Parish EF1 3.01 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $5K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Records with deaths or injuries in Evangeline Parish, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2002-10-29 TornadoChataignier, Evangeline Parish The tornado in St. Landry Parish moved into Evangeline Parish, and picked up a mobile home over 100 yards, before it landed and completely fell apart. Two ladies in the home were killed instantly. Three other people in the home survived with broken bones and bruises. Debris was scattered over a quarter of a mile away ... F2 5 mi x 50 yd 2 3 $164K
2008-09-03 TornadoBasile, Evangeline Parish A strong tornado began near Duralde, and ended near Mamou. Along the way, a home on Valentine Road lost part of its roof, causing one minor injury. A home of Highway 374 was severely damaged when it was knocked off its foundation. Along Duculus Road, two homes lost most of their roofs. One unoccupied, tied-down mobile ... EF2 7.06 mi x 50 yd 2 2 $411K
2014-01-07 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillEvangeline Parish · forecast zone Evangeline An Opelousas woman was found dead near Ville Platte after becoming missing a few days prior. The elderly woman suffered from dementia, but she died from exposure. Video shows the woman entering the park alone the day before. The low temperature at nearby KLFT was 20 degrees. 1 0 –
1998-09-11 TornadoBasile, Evangeline Parish The same storm that hit Midland in Acadia Parish developed another tornado, and touched down in Basile on the Acadia/Evangeline Parish line. The worst hit area was the high school, where the middle school wing was completely destroyed. A total of 27 homes and businesses received damage in Basile, of which 15 were ... F1 5 mi x 20 yd 0 3 $3.6M
1996-01-26 TornadoChataignier, Evangeline Parish 5 hunters sought shelter in a barn when they saw the tornado. The tornado flattened the barn, causing 3 of the men to be injuried. F1 1 mi x 20 yd 0 3 $28K
1975-04-30 TornadoEvangeline Parish F1 0.5 mi x 50 yd 0 3 $25K step
1998-02-26 Thunderstorm WindVille Platte, Evangeline Parish Winds clocked at 77 mph roared through Ville Platte, uprooting trees, and damaging the roofs of over 50 homes and businesses.In Mamou, major damage occurred to a rice dryer, and several power poles were snapped. Several people were trapped in cars due to debris covering area roadways. An 18-wheeler was flipped over, ... 0 2 $3.6M
1998-02-19 HailPine Prairie, Evangeline Parish Local residents commented they had never seen so much hail in their life. Hail was at least a couple of inches deep, making it look like it snowed. Area roadways were hazardous until the hail melted. A single car accident was directly attributed to the icy roads. Two people were slightly injured in the accident. 0.75 in hail 0 2 $36K

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

The costliest records in Evangeline Parish since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2020-08-26 Hurricane (Typhoon)Evangeline Parish · forecast zone Evangeline 0 0 $114M
2008-09-01 Hurricane (Typhoon)Evangeline Parish · forecast zone Evangeline 0 0 $103M
2020-10-09 Tropical StormEvangeline Parish · forecast zone Evangeline 0 0 $57M
2002-10-03 Hurricane (Typhoon)Evangeline Parish · forecast zone Evangeline 0 1 $38M
1998-08-01 DroughtEvangeline Parish · forecast zone Evangeline 0 0 $26M
2013-01-10 FloodBasile, Evangeline Parish 0 0 $18M
2000-12-01 DroughtEvangeline Parish · forecast zone Evangeline 0 0 $4.8M
2017-04-30 Flash FloodTurkey Creek, Evangeline Parish 0 0 $4.2M

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250K, in the dollars of the day) holds: March 24, 1973 (tornado, Evangeline Parish); September 11, 1982 (tornado, Evangeline Parish).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Evangeline Parish's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Evangeline Parish: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Severe thunderstorm wind016132928308
Hail043162362
Tornadoes01928887
Floods––––36811
Winter storms––––0393

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

Records by month in Evangeline Parish. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 29 · Feb 30 · Mar 33 · Apr 36 · May 37 · Jun 20 · Jul 18 · Aug 16 · Sep 12 · Oct 16 · Nov 11 · Dec 18 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Evangeline Parish

FEMA's register lists 35 declarations that include Evangeline Parish: 18 major disasters, 16 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for hurricane (21) and coastal storm (3).

Declarations including Evangeline Parish, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2026-01-24EM-3638Winter StormSevere Winter Storm
2024-09-10EM-3614HurricaneTropical Storm Francine
2021-09-13EM-3574Coastal StormTropical Storm Nicholas
2021-08-29DR-4611HurricaneHurricane Ida
2021-08-27EM-3568HurricaneTropical Storm Ida
2021-03-09DR-4590Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storms
2021-02-18EM-3556Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
2021-01-12DR-4577HurricaneHurricane Zeta
2020-10-27EM-3549HurricaneTropical Storm Zeta
2020-10-16DR-4570HurricaneHurricane Delta
2020-10-07EM-3547HurricaneHurricane Delta
2020-09-14EM-3543HurricaneHurricane Sally
2020-08-28DR-4559HurricaneHurricane Laura
2020-08-23EM-3538HurricaneTropical Storms Laura and Marco
2020-06-07EM-3527Coastal StormTropical Storm Cristobal
2020-03-24DR-4484BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3459BiologicalCovid-19
2019-07-11EM-3416Coastal StormTropical Storm Barry
2016-08-14DR-4277FloodSevere Storms and Flooding
2013-02-22DR-4102Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2012-08-29DR-4080HurricaneHurricane Isaac
2008-09-02DR-1786HurricaneHurricane Gustav
2008-08-29EM-3289HurricaneHurricane Gustav
2006-11-02DR-1668Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2005-09-24DR-1607HurricaneHurricane Rita
2005-09-21EM-3260HurricaneHurricane Rita
2005-08-29DR-1603HurricaneHurricane Katrina
2005-08-27EM-3212HurricaneHurricane Katrina
2003-02-01EM-3172OtherLoss of Space Shuttle Columbia
2002-10-03DR-1437HurricaneHurricane Lili
2000-09-11FM-2337FireLa-Western Louisiana Fire Complex-9/8/00
1998-09-23DR-1246HurricaneHurricane Georges/Ts Frances
1992-08-26DR-956HurricaneHurricane Andrew
1983-01-11DR-675FloodSevere Storms and Flooding
1971-10-13DR-315HurricaneHurricane Edith

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Evangeline Parish had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 28 flood or flash flood records for Evangeline Parish from 1998 to 2026, on 28 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Evangeline Parish ranks 773rd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

Named storms on Evangeline Parish's flood and tropical record
StormBeganRecordsDeaths in the county
Hurricane Delta2020-10-0910
Hurricane Laura2020-08-2610
Hurricane Gustav2008-09-0110
Hurricane Rita2005-09-2310
Hurricane Lili2002-10-0310

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $6.4 million on 286 claims filed in Evangeline Parish; the most in one year was 75 in 2016. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1979: 5 · 1980: 5 · 1983: 9 · 1984: 4 · 1985: 4 · 1988: 1 · 1989: 6 · 1990: 1 · 1991: 3 · 1992: 2 · 1993: 1 · 1994: 2 · 1995: 10 · 2002: 6 · 2003: 2 · 2004: 5 · 2005: 5 · 2006: 3 · 2008: 11 · 2009: 2 · 2011: 1 · 2012: 2 · 2013: 24 · 2014: 1 · 2016: 75 · 2017: 46 · 2018: 1 · 2019: 36 · 2020: 9 · 2021: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2025: 1; the other years: 0.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Evangeline Parish

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Evangeline Parish Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $22.9 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

National Risk Index ratings for Evangeline Parish (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
Cold WaveRelatively High$5.0M1.2 a year (modeled)
LightningRelatively High$657K78 a year (modeled)
HurricaneRelatively Moderate$4.6Monce in about 8 years (modeled)
DroughtRelatively Moderate$935K20 modeled event-days a year
TornadoRelatively Moderate$4.0Monce in about 2 years (modeled)
Ice StormRelatively Moderate$204Kabout once a year (modeled)
Heat WaveRelatively Low$567K10 modeled event-days a year
WildfireRelatively Low$104Konce in about 952 years (modeled)

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Evangeline Parish

  1. Rapides Parish 728
  2. St. Landry Parish 457
  3. Acadia Parish 414
  4. Avoyelles Parish 367
  5. Allen Parish 338
  6. Jefferson Davis Parish 325
  7. Evangeline Parish 276

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

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