FEMA declarations
111
High volume
State profile · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Louisiana Natural Disasters
Louisiana carries a substantial federal disaster record. 111 FEMA disaster declarations are on record, led by hurricane, with $37.4B in combined property and crop damage. The count also reflects declaration policy and program use; it is not a direct measure of physical hazard frequency. NOAA storm event data shows 11,204 recorded weather events resulting in 174 fatalities, numbers that shape which hazards get priority in the state's preparedness planning.
- 111
- FEMA declarations
- 11,204
- NOAA storm events
- 174
- Storm fatalities
- $37.4B
- Property + crop damage
The Louisiana risk picture
7 of Louisiana's 64 parishes, 11%, carry a FEMA "high-risk" National Risk Index rating, with hurricane the single largest driver of expected annual loss statewide. Louisiana has 78 Major Disaster (DR) declarations; FEMA authorizes Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both separately for each declaration. NOAA-tracked storms have caused 423 injuries statewide.
- 11%
- of parishes rated high-risk by FEMA National Risk Index
- 111
- FEMA disaster declarations on record
- $37.4B
- in tracked property + crop damage
- 481,179
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed statewide
FEMA's National Risk Index and NOAA's Storm Events Database measure different things: modeled long-run risk vs. observed severe-weather events. Storm Events is a reported dataset, so its counts track what was observed and logged, not every event that occurred, and reporting is denser where more people live. See the methodology for how they relate.
Major Disaster share
70%
Major-heavy
NOAA storm events
11,204
Observed severe-weather records
How does Louisiana compare?
Louisiana vs. every U.S. state
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
111 Top 20% higher than 80% of 59 states and territories
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states and territories. 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
Do more storms mean more federal disasters?
Louisiana sits at the 78th percentile of FEMA declaration volume and the 47th percentile of NOAA storm-event volume among 55 states and territories, those two ranks are not interchangeable.
FEMA declaration rank vs NOAA storm-event rank
Read the chart, every state as text
Percentiles are within this release's state/territory sample. Raw counts are the underlying FEMA and NOAA totals.
| State | FEMA decls | FEMA %ile | NOAA storms | NOAA %ile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 396 | 98 | 23,694 | 93 |
| Texas | 389 | 96 | 53,309 | 98 |
| Oklahoma | 258 | 95 | 23,896 | 95 |
| Washington | 215 | 93 | 4,408 | 22 |
| Florida | 188 | 91 | 12,838 | 55 |
| Oregon | 169 | 89 | 3,695 | 20 |
| New Mexico | 126 | 87 | 10,974 | 45 |
| Arizona | 120 | 85 | 9,541 | 38 |
| New York | 118 | 84 | 21,653 | 82 |
| Montana | 112 | 82 | 13,576 | 56 |
| Colorado | 111 | 78 | 18,340 | 73 |
| Louisiana | 111 | 78 | 11,204 | 47 |
| Nevada | 110 | 76 | 4,534 | 24 |
| Alabama | 102 | 75 | 14,583 | 64 |
| Kentucky | 98 | 71 | 19,947 | 78 |
| Mississippi | 98 | 71 | 14,100 | 62 |
| Tennessee | 97 | 69 | 16,645 | 69 |
| South Dakota | 96 | 67 | 22,759 | 87 |
| Alaska | 94 | 64 | 2,683 | 15 |
| Kansas | 94 | 64 | 25,115 | 96 |
| Arkansas | 87 | 60 | 13,637 | 58 |
| Nebraska | 87 | 60 | 20,136 | 80 |
| Missouri | 86 | 58 | 22,952 | 89 |
| North Carolina | 85 | 56 | 16,367 | 67 |
| West Virginia | 84 | 55 | 12,026 | 49 |
| Georgia | 81 | 51 | 16,676 | 71 |
| Minnesota | 81 | 51 | 19,109 | 75 |
| Iowa | 78 | 49 | 21,883 | 84 |
| Virginia | 77 | 47 | 23,584 | 91 |
| North Dakota | 75 | 45 | 10,818 | 44 |
| Hawaii | 72 | 44 | 6,200 | 31 |
| Maine | 71 | 42 | 4,781 | 27 |
| Illinois | 68 | 40 | 22,088 | 85 |
| Pennsylvania | 64 | 38 | 19,427 | 76 |
| New Hampshire | 63 | 36 | 2,547 | 11 |
| Vermont | 62 | 35 | 3,449 | 18 |
| Idaho | 60 | 31 | 5,142 | 29 |
| Ohio | 60 | 31 | 16,184 | 65 |
| Massachusetts | 59 | 25 | 6,781 | 33 |
| New Jersey | 59 | 25 | 8,218 | 35 |
| Utah | 59 | 25 | 4,578 | 25 |
| Wisconsin | 56 | 24 | 13,807 | 60 |
| Indiana | 54 | 22 | 12,687 | 53 |
| Puerto Rico | 51 | 18 | 2,944 | 16 |
| South Carolina | 51 | 18 | 10,520 | 42 |
| Michigan | 46 | 16 | 9,052 | 36 |
| Wyoming | 45 | 15 | 12,494 | 51 |
| Connecticut | 43 | 13 | 2,622 | 13 |
| Maryland | 38 | 11 | 10,290 | 40 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 33 | 9 | 88 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 31 | 7 | 924 | 7 |
| Delaware | 26 | 5 | 1,475 | 9 |
| Guam | 25 | 4 | 258 | 2 |
| District of Columbia | 24 | 2 | 452 | 5 |
| American Samoa | 17 | 0 | 292 | 4 |
What shapes Louisiana's record?
FEMA declaration types in Louisiana
Wider bars = more declarations of that incident type
- Hurricane
Hurricane
38 declarations
- Flood
Flood
29 declarations
- Severe Storm 15
Severe Storm
15 declarations
- Coastal Storm 5
Coastal Storm
5 declarations
- Tornado 5
Tornado
5 declarations
- Fire 5
Fire
5 declarations
- Biological 3
Biological
3 declarations
- Severe Ice Storm 3
Severe Ice Storm
3 declarations
What this shows Hurricane leads Louisiana's FEMA declaration mix with 38 records among the types shown.
NOAA storm events by year
Reported severe-weather events in Louisiana, 2015–2025 catalog window.
Peak year in this series: 2023 (2,199 events). Counts are reported events, not a complete census.
77 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Louisiana · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite mixing OpenFEMA declaration totals (1953–present) with NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025), different windows and event definitions, disclosed weights on the methodology page . 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) High
19/30
111 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.3x state average)
NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025) High
13/25
11204 NOAA storm events in the 2015–2025 extract (1.0x median state)
NOAA Damage (2015–2025) Very High
25/25
Recorded NOAA property+crop damage in the 2015–2025 extract (64.9x median state)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
13 different disaster types declared in Louisiana
What does Louisiana's hazard record show?
Flood exposure & where to dig deeper
Flood exposure is quantified separately through the National Flood Insurance Program. Policyholders across 64Louisiana counties have filed 481,179 NFIP claims totaling $21.0B, or an average of $43.6K per claim. NFIP data captures only insured flood losses, so uninsured flood damage and storm-surge losses outside mapped high-risk zones remain invisible in this figure. The highest-Expected-Annual-Loss hazard across the state is Hurricane, estimated at $1.5B annually. Drill into individual parishes for localized risk, read FEMA's hazard-specific briefings, and review insurance and flood-zone designations, state-level averages can mask sharp county-to-county differences in exposure and resilience.
NOAA storm events & FEMA National Risk Index
NOAA's Storm Events Database adds the near-term severe-weather lens. Between 2015 and 2025, Louisiana recorded 11,204 individual storm events, causing 174 fatalities and 423 injuries, with combined property and crop damage estimated at $37.4B. The most frequent event types in the state are Thunderstorm Wind (3,274 events), Flash Flood (1,516 events), Hail (1,224 events). Across the state's 64 analyzed parishes, FEMA's own National Risk Index flags 7 as high-risk, with an average county Risk Index score (FEMA's own formula, distinct from our Historical Activity tool below) of 62.4/100.
What this count is, and is not. Storm Events is a reported database: NOAA compiles it from National Weather Service offices, trained spotters, law enforcement, and the public. It is a record of what was observed and logged, not a complete census of severe weather. Densely populated areas report more events than sparsely populated ones with similar meteorological exposure, and detection has improved over time, so an event count is not a like-for-like measure of hazard between places or across decades. Damage figures are field estimates, not audited losses. See methodology.
FEMA disaster declarations
Louisiana (LA) has a high level of federal declaration activity, with 111 FEMA declaration records, including 78 Major Disaster declarations (DR). A DR may authorize Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both; those program approvals are not implied by the DR count. The dominant declaration type is Hurricane, followed by Flood (29), Severe Storm (15), Coastal Storm (5). Declaration counts at the state level reflect the cumulative federal footprint: large multi-county events count once per state, but repeat hazard patterns across decades are visible in the breakdown below.
Disaster Types in Louisiana
Hurricane 38
Flood 29
Severe Storm 15
Coastal Storm 5
Tornado 5
Fire 5
Biological 3
Severe Ice Storm 3
Snowstorm 2
Winter Storm 2
Other 2
Tropical Storm 1
Toxic Substances 1
Storm Events by Type
NOAA storm event data for Louisiana (2015-2025).
| Event 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 |
| Tornado | 712 | 23 | 270 | $635.8M |
| Drought | 677 | 0 | 0 | $200.0K |
| Winter Weather | 225 | 3 | 1 | $26.0K |
| Tropical Storm | 193 | 2 | 13 | $853.6M |
| Astronomical Low Tide | 153 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 128 | 1 | 0 | $3.7B |
| Winter Storm | 125 | 5 | 0 | $850.0K |
| Flood | 111 | 9 | 1 | $6.1B |
| Heavy Snow | 84 | 7 | 0 | $220.0K |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | 76 | 55 | 4 | $22.1B |
| Lightning | 66 | 7 | 22 | $9.3M |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 53 | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Coastal Flood | 50 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Heavy Rain | 48 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 40 | 3 | 1 | $0 |
Storm Events by Year
| Year | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,188 | 12 | 4 | $8.4M |
| 2024 | 1,311 | 8 | 18 | $231.4M |
| 2023 | 2,199 | 15 | 73 | $90.3M |
| 2022 | 815 | 9 | 60 | $191.5M |
| 2021 | 784 | 42 | 12 | $12.7B |
| 2020 | 875 | 38 | 28 | $14.7B |
| 2019 | 813 | 8 | 35 | $186.7M |
| 2018 | 741 | 9 | 19 | $18.2M |
| 2017 | 825 | 7 | 55 | $107.6M |
| 2016 | 901 | 22 | 103 | $9.2B |
| 2015 | 752 | 4 | 16 | $21.0M |
FEMA Disaster Declarations
How the 111 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download all 111 declarations as CSV . Source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
111 unique disaster declarations in Louisiana.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4927 | TROPICAL STORM ARTHUR | DR | Tropical Storm | 2026-06-30 |
| 4900 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Winter Storm | 2026-02-18 |
| 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 |
| 5486 | HIGHWAY 113 FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-08-30 |
| 5485 | LIONS CAMP ROAD FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-08-27 |
| 5484 | IDA FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-08-25 |
| 5482 | TIGER ISLAND FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-08-23 |
| 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 |
| 3522 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4462 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2019-09-19 |
| 4458 | HURRICANE BARRY | DR | Hurricane | 2019-08-27 |
| 3416 | TROPICAL STORM BARRY | EM | Coastal Storm | 2019-07-11 |
| 4439 | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-06-03 |
| 3413 | FLOODING | EM | Flood | 2019-05-29 |
| 4345 | TROPICAL STORM HARVEY | DR | Hurricane | 2017-10-16 |
| 3392 | TROPICAL STORM NATE | EM | Hurricane | 2017-10-06 |
| 3382 | TROPICAL STORM HARVEY | EM | Hurricane | 2017-08-28 |
| 4300 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Tornado | 2017-02-11 |
| 4277 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-08-14 |
| 4263 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2016-03-13 |
| 3376 | FLOODING | EM | Flood | 2016-02-05 |
| 4228 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2015-07-13 |
| 4102 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-02-22 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 1792 | HURRICANE IKE | DR | Hurricane | 2008-09-13 |
| 3295 | HURRICANE IKE | EM | Hurricane | 2008-09-11 |
| 1786 | HURRICANE GUSTAV | DR | Hurricane | 2008-09-02 |
Showing 50 of 111 declarations.
FEMA National Risk Index
Composite natural hazard risk scores for Louisiana parishes based on FEMA's National Risk Index.
Avg County Risk Score
62.4/100
High Risk Parishes
7
of 64 parishes
Top Hazard by EAL
Hurricane
$1.5B annual loss est.
Top 5 Hazards by Expected Annual Loss
#1
Hurricane
$1.5B EAL
#2
Riverine Flooding
$911.5M EAL
#3
Tornado
$246.6M EAL
#4
Cold Wave
$185.4M EAL
#5
Heat Wave
$139.6M EAL
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) EAL = Expected Annual Loss. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
National Flood Insurance Program claims across Louisiana from FEMA NFIP data.
Total Claims
481,179
Total Paid
$21.0B
Avg Per Claim
$43.6K
Counties With Claims
64
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
Parishes in Louisiana
64 parishes with FEMA disaster data.
Highest-risk parishes by FEMA National Risk Index
Declaration counts above measure past federal action; FEMA's NRI is a composite of Expected Annual Loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience. By that separate measure the highest-risk counties in Louisiana are Jefferson (98.7), Orleans (98.3), East Baton Rouge (98.0), St. Tammany (96.6), Calcasieu (95.7). Compare any county's recorded history with the Historical Activity tool.
All 64 parishes in Louisiana are listed above.
Disaster Preparedness Guides
Learn more about natural disaster risk, preparedness, and data interpretation.
Preparing for Natural Disasters
Essential steps to prepare your household for the most common natural hazards.
Hazard Risk by Region
How natural disaster risk varies across different US regions.
Climate Change & Disasters
How climate trends are changing the frequency and severity of natural disasters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What natural disasters affect Louisiana?
Louisiana is affected by hurricane, flood, severe storm, coastal storm. Topping the list is Hurricane, based on 111 FEMA disaster declarations on record.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has Louisiana had?
Louisiana has received 111 FEMA disaster declarations, including 78 major disaster declarations. These declarations span multiple disaster types including Hurricane (38), Flood (29), Severe Storm (15).
What severe weather events are most common in Louisiana?
The most common severe weather events in Louisiana include thunderstorm wind (3,274 events), flash flood (1,516 events), hail (1,224 events). These NOAA storm events recorded from 2015 to 2025 have caused 174 fatalities and $37.4B in property and crop damage.
How active is Louisiana's federal disaster declaration record?
Louisiana has a high level of historical federal declaration activity, based on 111 FEMA declaration records. This band is not a future-risk forecast. Separately, NOAA storm events from 2015-2025 record 174 fatalities and 423 injuries. Combined NOAA-listed property and crop losses total $37.4B.
How many flood insurance claims has Louisiana had?
Louisiana has 481,179 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims with $21.0B total paid out. Claims average $43.6K, with 64 counties reporting flood insurance claims.
Which parishes in Louisiana have the most disaster declarations?
Among 64 parishes in Louisiana, those with the most FEMA declaration records include Ascension (58 declarations), St. Martin (54 declarations), Lafourche (54 declarations). County-by-county figures show where the state's federal declaration history concentrates.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025) FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025) For informational purposes only
What this means for Louisiana
Ascension alone accounts for 52% of Louisiana's FEMA disaster declarations, out of 64 counties tracked statewide.
- The declaration record is uneven within the state: Ascension and St. Martin carry the most FEMA declarations. Browse counties
- See how Louisiana ranks against other states for disaster frequency and damage. State rankings
- Learn what FEMA declarations, NRI risk scores, and damage figures do and don't tell you. Disaster-data guide
Historical declaration counts and damage totals describe past federal response, not a forecast. For current threats, follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.
PlainHazard derives this presentation from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries. Its county 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.
Related
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial
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.