Louisiana natural disasters

The state's storm and disaster record · population 4,652,126 · 64 counties and county equivalents

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 32,966 storm events in Louisiana since 1950, 25,459 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded, and the Storm Prediction Center counts 2,503 tornadoes in the state since 1950. The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events (12,655). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest storm in Louisiana is Hurricane Katrina (August 28, 2005): 816 deaths and $26 billion in damage in 2025 dollars across 27 records. FEMA has made 111 declarations for Louisiana since 1953, 105 for natural hazards; 78 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in Louisiana 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 $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 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 events recorded: 32,9661950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 1,3413,711 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $104.8Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes (SPC): 2,5031950 to 2025
FEMA declarations: 11178 major disasters

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); tornado count: NOAA Storm Prediction Center, 1950-2025; damage in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U). Search the record at NCEI.

What natural disasters happen in Louisiana?

By NOAA's records, Louisiana's most frequent hazards are severe thunderstorm wind events (12,655), hail reports (6,412), floods and flash floods (3,330); the deadliest are hurricane and tropical storm records (887 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

Louisiana: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Severe thunderstorm wind	12,655	2,979	46	316	$1.3B	64 of 64
Hail	6,412	1,022	0	8	$384M	64 of 64
Floods	3,330	1,395	39	21	$13.5B	64 of 64
Tornadoes	2,801	716	180	2,958	$5.1B	64 of 64
Heat	2,491	2,136	68	4	$159K	64 of 64
Drought	1,418	721	0	0	$1.0B	64 of 64
Hurricanes and tropical storms	1,195	400	887	36	$83.1B	64 of 64
Winter storms	1,092	446	28	24	$274M	64 of 64
Lightning	437	47	39	123	$58M	55 of 64
Rip currents and high surf	277	189	7	5	$93K	7 of 64
Extreme cold	276	149	22	1	$59M	64 of 64
High wind and dust storms	212	45	10	16	$6.6M	57 of 64
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	203	27	14	195	$4.3M	50 of 64
Heavy rain	140	41	1	0	$124K	43 of 64
Wildfires	27	8	0	4	$28M	15 of 64

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in Louisiana?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

Louisiana: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2005-08-28	Hurricane Katrina · Hurricane (Typhoon)Orleans Parish and St. Bernard Parish · forecast zone Orleans One storm episode: 27 records in 23 places; the totals are the episode's. Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest and most destructive hurricanes on record to impact the coast of the United States. It will likely be recorded as one the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States to date resulting in catastrophic damage and numerous casualties in southeast Louisiana and ...		816	0	$25.6B
2021-08-29	Tropical Storm Ida · Hurricane (Typhoon)Orleans Parish · forecast zone Western Orleans Parish One storm episode: 49 records in 21 places; the totals are the episode's. The ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, Ida originated from a tropical wave in the Caribbean Sea on August 23rd. On August 26th, the wave developed into a tropical depression, which organized further and became Tropical Storm Ida later that day, near ...		30	0	$13.2B
1950-02-12	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Shreveport, killed 18 (SPC) · TornadoCaddo Parish Every tornado record filed in the state that day (11, in 9 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 9 mi x 100 yd	28	112	$250K step
2020-08-26	Hurricane Laura · Hurricane (Typhoon)Calcasieu Parish · forecast zone Calcasieu One named storm filed by several offices: 20 records in 2 episodes, 2020-08-26 to 2020-08-27; the totals are the storm's. A tropical wave emerged off of Africa during August 16 and then developed into a depression by the 20th. The system gradually became better organized as it passed across the Greater Antilles. It entered the Gulf of Mexico and became a hurricane on the 25th. Outer bands spread inland during the afternoon of the 26th ...		24	1	$12.2B
1964-10-03	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Lafourche Parish, killed 22 (SPC) · TornadoLafourche Parish Every tornado record filed in the state that day (6, in 4 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 1.5 mi x 67 yd	22	170	$2.5M step
2016-08-13	East Baton Rouge Parish · FloodPlains, East Baton Rouge Parish One storm episode: 22 records in 14 places, 2016-08-13 to 2016-08-15; the totals are the episode's. A slow moving low pressure system brought widespread showers and thunderstorms to the area. The system tapped into deep tropical moisture resulting in very intense rainfall across a large portion of the area. Two-day rainfall totals of 10 inches or more were common across areas generally to the west and northwest of ...		12	0	$8.6B
1971-02-21	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Delhi, killed 11 in the state (47 on its whole track, SPC) · TornadoMadison Parish Every tornado record filed in the state that day (2, in 2 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F5 13.6 mi x 500 yd	11	18	$2.5M step
2008-09-03	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Hurricane Gustav, killed 2 (SPC) · TornadoBasile, Evangeline Parish One named storm filed by several offices: 78 records in 3 episodes; the totals are the storm's. Hurricane Gustav caused wind damage, flash flooding, and several tornadoes across southwest Louisiana. Hustav made landfall in Terrebonne Parish in the morning of September 2nd as a category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 110 mph. Gustav moved northwest, almost up along Highway 90 across St. Mary, Iberia, St. ...	EF2 7.06 mi x 50 yd	10	9	$1.5B
1953-12-03	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Dry Prong to Tullos, killed 9 (SPC) · TornadoVernon Parish Every tornado record filed in the state that day (8, in 5 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 15.5 mi x 300 yd	9	53	$2.5M step
1957-11-07	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Cankton, killed 4 (SPC) · TornadoRapides Parish Every tornado record filed in the state that day (8, in 8 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F3 13.3 mi x 67 yd	9	44	$2.5M 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: deaths direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in Louisiana

Louisiana: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Killed	Damage
2005-08-29	Storm Surge/TideOrleans Parish and St. Bernard Parish · forecast zone Orleans	0	$27.0B
2020-08-26	Hurricane (Typhoon)Calcasieu Parish · forecast zone Calcasieu	13	$6.8B
2005-08-28	Hurricane (Typhoon)Orleans Parish and St. Bernard Parish · forecast zone Orleans	638	$5.4B
2005-08-29	Storm Surge/TideSt. Bernard Parish · forecast zone Lower St. Bernard	0	$4.6B
2005-09-23	Hurricane (Typhoon)Cameron Parish · forecast zone Cameron	0	$4.2B
2005-08-28	Hurricane (Typhoon)St. Tammany Parish · forecast zone St. Tammany	2	$3.8B
2005-08-28	Hurricane (Typhoon)Washington Parish · forecast zone Washington	2	$2.8B
2005-08-28	Hurricane (Typhoon)St. Bernard Parish · forecast zone Upper St. Bernard	0	$2.7B

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 $250M, in the dollars of the day) holds: December 3, 1978 (tornado, Bossier Parish, 2 killed).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in Louisiana have the most records?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in Louisiana

Billion-dollar disasters in Louisiana

NOAA counted 106 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected Louisiana, led by severe storm (44). The most recent: Hurricane Francine (2024); Hurricane Beryl (2024); Central, Southern, Eastern Severe Weather (2024).

Louisiana: billion-dollar disasters by type, 1980-2024
Type	Events	Total cost (NOAA's range)
Severe Storm	44	$10.0B-$20.0B
Tropical Cyclone	27	$200.0B-$300.0B
Drought	15	$5.0B-$10.0B
Flooding	10	$20.0B-$50.0B
Winter Storm	9	$2.0B-$5.0B
Freeze	1	$100M-$250M

Every one of the 106, newest first

Hurricane Francine2024
Hurricane Beryl2024
Central, Southern, Eastern Severe Weather2024
Southern Derecho2024
Southern Severe Weather2024
Central and Southern Tornado Outbreak2024
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Southern Severe Weather2024
Southern Tornado Outbreak and East Coast Storm2024
Southern/Eastern/Northwestern Drought and Heat Wave2024
Central and Southern Severe Weather2023
Southern Severe Weather2023
Central and Southern Severe Weather2023
Southern/Midwestern Drought and Heatwave2023
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2022
Southern Severe Weather2022
Southeast Tornado Outbreak2022
Southern Tornado Outbreak2022
Western/Central Drought and Heat Wave2022
Hurricane Nicholas2021
Hurricane Ida2021
Louisiana Flooding2021
Southern Tornadoes and Southeast Severe Weather2021
Northwest, Central, Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2021
Hurricane Zeta2020
Hurricane Delta2020
Hurricane Sally2020
Hurricane Laura2020
Central, Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2020
Southern Severe Weather2020
Southeast and Eastern Tornado Outbreak2020
South, East and Northeast Severe Weather2020
Southeast Tornadoes and Northern Storms and Flooding2020
Texas Tornadoes and Central Severe Weather2019
Tropical Storm Imelda2019
South and Southeast Severe Weather2019
Southern and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2019
Mississippi River, Midwest and Southern Flooding2019
Southern and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2018
Southeastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2018
Hurricane Harvey2017
Missouri and Arkansas Flooding and Central Severe Weather2017
Southern Tornado Outbreak and Western Storms2017
Louisiana Flooding2016
Southern Severe Weather2016
Texas and Louisiana Flooding2016
Southeast and Eastern Tornadoes2016
Texas and Oklahoma Flooding and Severe Weather2015
South and Southeast Severe Weather2015
South/Southeast Severe Weather2015
Southern Severe Weather2013
Hurricane Isaac2012
Tropical Storm Lee2011
Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest Tornadoes2011
Mississippi River flooding2011
Southern Plains/Southwest Drought and Heat Wave2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2009
Southwest/Great Plains Drought2009
Hurricane Ike2008
Hurricane Gustav2008
East/South Severe Weather and Flooding2007
Midwest/Plains/Southeast Drought2006
Hurricane Rita2005
Hurricane Katrina2005
Hurricane Ivan2004
Severe Storms/Hail2003
Tropical Storm Isidore2002
Hurricane Lili2002
U.S. Drought2002
Tropical Storm Allison2001
Southern Severe Weather2000
Western/Central/Southeast Drought/Heat Wave2000
Southeast Winter Storm2000
Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1999
Oklahoma and Kansas Tornadoes1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Hurricane Georges1998
Tropical Storm Frances1998
Southern Drought and Heat Wave1998
Western/Eastern Severe Weather and Flooding1997
Central, Southern and Northeast Drought/Heat Wave1995
South Plains Severe Weather1995
Southeast Ice Storm1994
East Coast Blizzard and Severe Weather1993
Southeast Severe Weather1992
Hurricane Andrew1992
Severe Storms1992
Southern Flooding1990
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1989
Tropical Storm Allison1989
Southern Derecho and Severe Storms1989
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave1988
Southeast Drought/Heat Wave1986
Hurricane Juan1985
Hurricane Elena1985
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1985
Freeze/Cold Wave1983
Southeast Drought1983
Gulf States Storms and Flooding1982
Midwest/Plains/Southeast Tornadoes1982
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm, Cold Wave1982
Severe Storms, Flash Floods, Hail, Tornadoes1981
Hurricane Allen1980
Central/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1980
Southern Severe Storms and Flooding1980

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, state summary for Louisiana, 1980-2024 (NCEI's last update; the product is archived). A disaster that affected several states counts in each. NCEI billion-dollar disasters.

Federal disaster declarations in Louisiana

FEMA has made 111 declarations for Louisiana since 1953: 78 major disasters, 28 emergencies and 5 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are hurricane (38), flood (29), severe storm (15).

1950s 4
1960s 4
1970s 14
1980s 12
1990s 10
2000s 21
2010s 19
2020s 27

The 15 most recent declarations in Louisiana
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2026-06-30	DR-4927	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Arthur	9
2026-02-18	DR-4900	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	18
2026-01-24	EM-3638	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	64
2024-09-16	DR-4817	Hurricane	Hurricane Francine	22
2024-09-10	EM-3614	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Francine	64
2023-09-27	EM-3600	Other	Seawater Intrusion	5
2023-08-30	FM-5486	Fire	Highway 113 Fire	2
2023-08-27	FM-5485	Fire	Lions Camp Road Fire	1
2023-08-25	FM-5484	Fire	Ida Fire	1
2023-08-23	FM-5482	Fire	Tiger Island Fire	1
2021-09-13	EM-3574	Coastal Storm	Tropical Storm Nicholas	64
2021-08-29	DR-4611	Hurricane	Hurricane Ida	64
2021-08-27	EM-3568	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Ida	64
2021-06-02	DR-4606	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding	7
2021-03-09	DR-4590	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms	64

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in Louisiana

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $21 billion on 481,242 claims in 64 Louisiana counties. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk across Louisiana's counties

How FEMA's National Risk Index rates Louisiana's counties overall: a model of expected future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of events.

Relatively High 7
Relatively Moderate 17
Relatively Low 19
Very Low 21

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