FEMA Records
43
Very high volume
Louisiana · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Lafayette Parish, LA
43 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 43
- FEMA declarations
- 27
- Major disasters
- 95
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Lafayette Parish. Its 43 FEMA declarations are 4% 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 in the riskiest 5%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 5%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 43
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 6,579
- 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 Lafayette Parish compare?
Lafayette Parish vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
43 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
Lafayette 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 Lafayette Parish is led by Hurricane (about $97.8M 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 Lafayette Parish's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 6,579 claims and $266.6M 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 $40.5K. 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. Lafayette Parish's 43 federal records stand 4% 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 95.2/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $189.8M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Low and community resilience Relatively High, 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 84 times per year here, based on 432,373 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 43 entries for Lafayette Parish, including 27 Major Disaster records, 4% above the Louisiana county mean. Across the 61-year span, that works out to 0.7 declarations a year. Hurricane leads the file with 24 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
79 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Lafayette 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
43 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.1x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
13/25
43 declarations (1.0x state county average of 41)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
27 of 43 declarations are major disasters (63%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
9 different disaster types declared in Lafayette Parish
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Louisiana Avg
+4%
State avg: 41.4
vs. National Avg
+108%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.7
Over 61 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Lafayette 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
63%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
95
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Lafayette 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 84 times per year |
| Hurricane | Very High | roughly once every 6 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 10 modeled event-days per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.8 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 19 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1,259 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 4 years |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 4,265 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 83 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 1 time per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 31 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 24
Flood 7
Coastal Storm 4
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Winter Storm 1
Severe Storm 1
Other 1
Snowstorm 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Lafayette Parish's federal record, 56% 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 62.8%
of all 43 declarations
Emergency - 16 37.2%
of all 43 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 10 | |
| 2020 | 6 | |
| 2019 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2004 | 2 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
Show 7 earlier declaration years
| 1989 | 1 | |
| 1985 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 2 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 43 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 43 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 |
| 4458 | HURRICANE BARRY | DR | Hurricane | 2019-08-27 |
| 3416 | TROPICAL STORM BARRY | EM | Coastal Storm | 2019-07-11 |
Show 23 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4345 | TROPICAL STORM HARVEY | DR | Hurricane | 2017-10-16 |
| 4277 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-08-14 |
| 4080 | HURRICANE ISAAC | DR | Hurricane | 2012-08-29 |
| 1786 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | DR | Hurricane | 2008-09-02 |
| 3289 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM | Hurricane | 2008-08-29 |
| 1607 | HURRICANE RITA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-09-24 |
| 3260 | HURRICANE RITA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-21 |
| 1603 | HURRICANE KATRINA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-08-29 |
| 1548 | HURRICANE IVAN | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-15 |
| 1521 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-06-08 |
| 3172 | LOSS OF SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA | EM | Other | 2003-02-01 |
| 1437 | HURRICANE LILI | DR | Hurricane | 2002-10-03 |
| 1380 | TROPICAL STORM ALLISON | DR | Coastal Storm | 2001-06-11 |
| 978 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1993-02-02 |
| 956 | HURRICANE ANDREW | DR | Hurricane | 1992-08-26 |
| 835 | TROPICAL STORM ALLISON | DR | Flood | 1989-07-17 |
| 728 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1984-10-31 |
| 622 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1980-05-21 |
| 534 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1977-05-02 |
| 3031 | DROUGHT & FREEZING | EM | Snowstorm | 1977-02-22 |
| 448 | HURRICANE CARMEN | DR | Hurricane | 1974-09-23 |
| 315 | HURRICANE EDITH | DR | Hurricane | 1971-10-13 |
| 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 Lafayette 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
6,579
Total Paid
$266.6M
Avg Per Claim
$40.5K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 95.2/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$189.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Lightning Very High
Hurricane Very High
Cold Wave Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively High
Drought Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Low
Earthquake Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Very Low
Coastal Flooding Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Landslide 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: 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 Lafayette 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
Lafayette Parish's closest FEMA peer: Santa Barbara County, CA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Lafayette Parish. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Lafayette Parish shows 43 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Lafayette Parish: 27 of 43 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Lafayette Parish: NRI composite 95.2 (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 Lafayette Parish - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Lafayette Parish's NFIP claims file (6,579 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 Lafayette Parish?
The most common disaster type in Lafayette Parish is Hurricane, with 24 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (7), Coastal Storm (4), Severe Ice Storm (2).
How does Lafayette Parish's FEMA declaration record compare with the Louisiana average?
FEMA lists 43 declaration records for Lafayette Parish. That is 4% above the Louisiana county mean of 41.4. Its count is also 108% 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 Lafayette Parish received?
Lafayette Parish has received 27 major disaster declarations, representing 63% of all 43 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Lafayette Parish filed?
Lafayette Parish has 6,579 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $266.6M in payments, with an average of $40.5K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Lafayette Parish?
No. In Lafayette Parish, Lightning has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Hurricane leads Expected Annual Loss at about $97.8M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Lafayette Parish?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Lafayette Parish was 2021, with 10 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Lafayette Parish?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana has an overall risk score of 95.2 out of 100 (Relatively High). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Low and community resilience is Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $189.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Lafayette Parish?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Lafayette Parish as of the latest release is Lightning (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Hurricane (Very High) and Cold Wave (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts lightning here at an average of 84 times per year, drawn from 432,373 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 Lafayette Parish
Lafayette Parish, LA has 43 federal declaration records, 4% 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 43 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.