FEMA Records
41
Very high volume
Louisiana · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Washington Parish, LA
41 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 41
- FEMA declarations
- 23
- Major disasters
- 86
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Washington Parish has a nationally busy FEMA history: 41 declarations, more than 97% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 1% below the Louisiana county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 14%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 14%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 41
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 674
- 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 Washington Parish compare?
Washington Parish vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
41 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
Washington Parish's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Louisiana county average
What does Washington Parish's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 674 claims and $15.6M 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 $23.1K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
Start with the state benchmark: a Louisiana county averages 41.4 federal declaration records, while Washington Parish has 41. The gap is 1% below that mean. Fewer entries indicate a quieter history of recorded federal actions, not immunity from a hazard and not a prediction about what happens next.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 85.5/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Low (roughly $34.8M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Very High and community resilience Relatively Low, 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 6 years here, based on 63 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
Nationally, Washington Parish's 41 FEMA records form a high-volume history; within Louisiana, however, the count is 1% below the county mean. 23 entries carry the Major Disaster classification. The largest incident group is Hurricane, appearing 26 times. The full 61-year record averages 0.7 declarations annually. A DR label alone does not say whether Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both followed.
74 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Washington 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
41 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.0x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
12/25
41 declarations (1.0x state county average of 41)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
23 of 41 declarations are major disasters (56%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Washington Parish
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Louisiana Avg
-1%
State avg: 41.4
vs. National Avg
+98%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.7
Over 61 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Washington 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
56%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
86
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Washington 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 6 years |
| Drought | Relatively High | 16 modeled event-days per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 14 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 363 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 2.8 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | an average of 81 times per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2.2 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 952 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 5 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 26
Flood 5
Coastal Storm 4
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Winter Storm 1
Snowstorm 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Washington 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 - 23 56.1%
of all 41 declarations
Emergency - 18 43.9%
of all 41 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 9 | |
| 2020 | 6 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 2 | |
| 2012 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 4 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
Show 6 earlier declaration years
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 41 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 41 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 |
| 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 |
| 3416 | TROPICAL STORM BARRY | EM | Coastal Storm | 2019-07-11 |
| 3392 | TROPICAL STORM NATE | EM | Hurricane | 2017-10-06 |
Show 21 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4277 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-08-14 |
| 4263 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-03-13 |
| 4080 | HURRICANE ISAAC | DR | Hurricane | 2012-08-29 |
| 3347 | TROPICAL STORM ISAAC | EM | Hurricane | 2012-08-27 |
| 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 |
| 1548 | HURRICANE IVAN | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-15 |
| 1437 | HURRICANE LILI | DR | Hurricane | 2002-10-03 |
| 1380 | TROPICAL STORM ALLISON | DR | Coastal Storm | 2001-06-11 |
| 1246 | HURRICANE GEORGES/TS FRANCES | DR | Hurricane | 1998-09-23 |
| 956 | HURRICANE ANDREW | DR | Hurricane | 1992-08-26 |
| 679 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1983-04-20 |
| 616 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1980-04-09 |
| 3031 | DROUGHT & FREEZING | EM | Snowstorm | 1977-02-22 |
| 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 Washington 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
674
Total Paid
$15.6M
Avg Per Claim
$23.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 85.5/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$34.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hurricane Relatively High
Drought Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Earthquake Very 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: 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 Washington 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
Washington Parish's closest FEMA peer: Shasta County, CA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Washington Parish. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Washington Parish shows 41 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Washington Parish: 23 of 41 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Washington Parish: NRI composite 85.5 (Relatively Moderate).
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 Washington Parish - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Washington Parish's NFIP claims file (674 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 Washington Parish?
The most common disaster type in Washington Parish is Hurricane, with 26 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (5), Coastal Storm (4), Severe Ice Storm (2).
How does Washington Parish's FEMA declaration record compare with the Louisiana average?
The typical Louisiana county has 41.4 FEMA declaration records; Washington Parish has 41, or 1% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 98% higher. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Washington Parish received?
Washington Parish has received 23 major disaster declarations, representing 56% of all 41 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Washington Parish filed?
Washington Parish has 674 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $15.6M in payments, with an average of $23.1K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Washington Parish?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Washington 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 Washington Parish?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Washington Parish, Louisiana has an overall risk score of 85.5 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). Social vulnerability here rates Very High, while community resilience comes in at Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $34.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Washington Parish?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Washington Parish as of the latest release is Hurricane (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Drought (Relatively High) and Heat Wave (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hurricane here at roughly once every 6 years, drawn from 63 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 Washington Parish
Against a Louisiana county mean of 41 declarations, Washington Parish, LA records 41, or 1% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as high activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (23 of 41) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Louisiana overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 97% of recorded county totals, but its own Louisiana benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. 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
A below-average federal record is not a safety guarantee. Use National Weather Service alerts and local emergency-management notices for present conditions, not this historical comparison.
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.