442 flood insurance claims·$9.4M paid·21 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Allen Parish, Louisiana. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from severe weather systems and slow-moving fronts dominates the local flood hazard, backed by significant historical impacts from tropical systems and hurricanes. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 19 flash flood events alongside tropical storms, hurricanes resulting in three deaths, and general floods. Recent events illustrate this vulnerability, including heavy rainfall and flooding produced by a stalled frontal boundary interacting with moisture from Tropical Storm Rafael in November 2024, as well as multiple rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms from a stalled low pressure and cold front system in May 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with Zone A recording 225 claims averaging a payout of $27,381 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone X properties recorded 63 claims with a higher average payout of $50,862 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 102 claims averaging $9,178 and an average water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 51 claims averaging $18,863 and an average water depth of 7 inches, and Zone D recorded a single claim averaging $5,307 with 0 inches of recorded water depth.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A and Zone X, which account for the highest claim volumes and substantial average water depths, as well as areas with unshaded or unknown zone designations where localized flash flooding presents ongoing risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
18% of Allen Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
276 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 6 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2020, with 55 claims and $2.7M paid, the year of Tropical Storm Cristobal, Tropical Storms Laura and Marco, Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Sally, Hurricane Delta and Hurricane Zeta.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
10 NOAA storm reports from Allen Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
40 federal disaster declarations since 1979, 21 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Tropical Storm Francine | Sep 10, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Nicholas | Sep 12, 2021 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 26, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Ida | Aug 26, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 26, 2020 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 19 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 7, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 9, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Aug 26, 2020 | $400.0M · 3 killed |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 9, 2020 | $100.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 7, 2025. A warm front slowly lifted north across the region during the 6th causing rain and thunderstorms. A low pressure system and associated cold front slowly pushed back across the area on the 7th and stalled into the 9th with a couple rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Flash Flood · May 6, 2025. A warm front slowly lifted north across the region during the 6th causing rain and thunderstorms. A low pressure system and associated cold front slowly pushed back across the area on the 7th and stalled into the 9th with a couple rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Flash Flood · Jan 24, 2024. A slow moving storm system affected Central and South Louisiana with multiple days of heavy rain and a few severe storms.
Flash Flood · May 16, 2024. Multiple upper disturbances moved across the region from the 12th through the 16th causing a rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms which produced numerous reports of damage, flooding, and high winds.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Allen Parish is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.