FEMA Records
48
Very high volume
Louisiana · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
St. Bernard Parish, LA
48 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 48
- FEMA declarations
- 29
- Major disasters
- 76
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for St. Bernard Parish. Its 48 FEMA declarations are 16% above the Louisiana county mean and exceed the count for 99% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 24%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 24%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 48
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 23,919
- 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 St. Bernard Parish compare?
St. Bernard Parish vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
48 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
St. Bernard Parish's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Louisiana county average
What does St. Bernard Parish's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 23,919 claims and $2.2B 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 $93.9K. 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. St. Bernard Parish's 48 federal records stand 16% 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 75.6/100 (Relatively Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Low (roughly $34.7M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Moderate and community resilience Very High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Hurricane stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 4 years here, based on 116 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 48 entries for St. Bernard Parish, including 29 Major Disaster records, 16% above the Louisiana county mean. Across the 61-year span, that works out to 0.8 declarations a year. Hurricane leads the file with 30 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
80 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
St. Bernard 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
48 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.3x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
15/25
48 declarations (1.2x state county average of 41)
Major Disaster Share High
15/25
29 of 48 declarations are major disasters (60%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in St. Bernard Parish
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Louisiana Avg
+16%
State avg: 41.4
vs. National Avg
+132%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.8
Over 61 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - St. Bernard 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
76
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike St. Bernard 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Relatively High | roughly once every 4 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 4.2 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 83 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 9.3 modeled event-days per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | an average of 1.2 times per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 1,357 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 26 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,136 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 21 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 25 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 30
Coastal Storm 5
Flood 4
Other 2
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Severe Storm 2
Winter Storm 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on St. Bernard Parish's federal record, 63% 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 - 29 60.4%
of all 48 declarations
Emergency - 19 39.6%
of all 48 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 9 | |
| 2020 | 6 | |
| 2019 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 3 | |
| 2005 | 5 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
Show 9 earlier declaration years
| 1995 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 48 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 48 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 |
| 4817 | HURRICANE FRANCINE | DR | Hurricane | 2024-09-16 |
| 3614 | TROPICAL STORM FRANCINE | EM | Hurricane | 2024-09-10 |
| 3600 | SEAWATER INTRUSION | EM | Other | 2023-09-27 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
Show 28 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3416 | TROPICAL STORM BARRY | EM | Coastal Storm | 2019-07-11 |
| 3392 | TROPICAL STORM NATE | EM | Hurricane | 2017-10-06 |
| 4080 | HURRICANE ISAAC | DR | Hurricane | 2012-08-29 |
| 3347 | TROPICAL STORM ISAAC | EM | Hurricane | 2012-08-27 |
| 4041 | TROPICAL STORM LEE | DR | Coastal Storm | 2011-10-28 |
| 1792 | HURRICANE IKE | DR | Hurricane | 2008-09-13 |
| 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 |
| 3212 | HURRICANE KATRINA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-08-27 |
| 1601 | TROPICAL STORM CINDY | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-08-23 |
| 1548 | HURRICANE IVAN | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-15 |
| 3172 | LOSS OF SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA | EM | Other | 2003-02-01 |
| 1437 | HURRICANE LILI | DR | Hurricane | 2002-10-03 |
| 1435 | TROPICAL STORM ISIDORE | DR | Hurricane | 2002-09-27 |
| 1380 | TROPICAL STORM ALLISON | DR | Coastal Storm | 2001-06-11 |
| 1246 | HURRICANE GEORGES/TS FRANCES | DR | Hurricane | 1998-09-23 |
| 1049 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-05-10 |
| 956 | HURRICANE ANDREW | DR | Hurricane | 1992-08-26 |
| 752 | HURRICANE JUAN | DR | Hurricane | 1985-11-01 |
| 679 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1983-04-20 |
| 616 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1980-04-09 |
| 556 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1978-05-09 |
| 374 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1973-04-27 |
| 272 | HURRICANE CAMILLE | DR | Hurricane | 1969-08-19 |
| 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 St. Bernard 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
23,919
Total Paid
$2.2B
Avg Per Claim
$93.9K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 75.6/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$34.7M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hurricane Relatively High
Coastal Flooding Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Drought Relatively Low
Hail Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Strong Wind Very 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: Hurricane
Hurricane exposure in the model bundles the three ways a tropical system does harm, which arrive on different timescales and are insured differently: wind, storm surge on the coast, and rainfall flooding that can reach far inland well after landfall.
For St. Bernard Parish the two measures on this page point the same way: Hurricane is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively High), and Hurricane declarations also lead its federal record. Where the model and the declaration history agree, the reading is comparatively straightforward, the hazard is both expected and repeatedly realised.
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
St. Bernard Parish's closest FEMA peer: Creek County, OK
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for St. Bernard Parish. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
St. Bernard Parish shows 48 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
St. Bernard Parish: 29 of 48 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
St. Bernard Parish: NRI composite 75.6 (Relatively 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 St. Bernard Parish - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
St. Bernard Parish's NFIP claims file (23,919 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 St. Bernard Parish?
The most common disaster type in St. Bernard Parish is Hurricane, with 30 declarations. Other disaster types include Coastal Storm (5), Flood (4), Other (2).
How does St. Bernard Parish's FEMA declaration record compare with the Louisiana average?
FEMA lists 48 declaration records for St. Bernard Parish. That is 16% above the Louisiana county mean of 41.4. Its count is also 132% 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 St. Bernard Parish received?
St. Bernard Parish has received 29 major disaster declarations, representing 60% of all 48 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has St. Bernard Parish filed?
St. Bernard Parish has 23,919 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $2.2B in payments, with an average of $93.9K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in St. Bernard Parish?
The most active year for disaster declarations in St. Bernard Parish was 2021, with 9 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for St. Bernard Parish?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana has an overall risk score of 75.6 out of 100 (Relatively Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively Moderate; on community resilience, Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $34.7M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to St. Bernard Parish?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in St. Bernard Parish is Hurricane (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Coastal Flooding (Relatively Moderate) and Lightning (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hurricane here at roughly once every 4 years, drawn from 116 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 St. Bernard Parish
St. Bernard Parish, LA has 48 federal declaration records, 16% 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 29 of 48 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 99% 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.