6,783 flood insurance claims·$349.3M paid·43 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 Ascension 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Ascension Parish, supported by 27 flash flood events alongside 3 standard floods and 2 tropical storms over the last 30 years, resulting in 1 recorded death.
Recent events illustrate this recurring threat, including severe thunderstorms in a primed microburst environment in July 2025, and Hurricane Francine, which made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane in September 2024, bringing 10 to 15 inches of torrential rainfall and significant flash flooding.
Property owners across multiple zones should pay close attention to historical claim patterns. The highest volume of National Flood Insurance Program claims is concentrated in Zone A, with 5,252 claims averaging a payout of $65,596 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. However, properties in Zone X also face meaningful risk, accounting for 721 claims with an average payout of $58,439 and an average water depth of 8 inches, as well as 434 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED averaging $42,056 with an average water depth of 6 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Ascension Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
5,762 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 8 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 2016, with 3,947 claims and $309.2M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Ascension Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
66 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 43 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Tropical Storm Francine | Sep 10, 2024 |
| Hurricane Francine | Sep 9, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Nicholas | Sep 12, 2021 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 26, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Ida | Aug 26, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 17, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
32 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2025 | $28,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 11, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2024 | $1.0M |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2024 | $62,000 |
| Flash Flood | Dec 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 1, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 20, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 30, 2025. A primed microburst environment was in place on July 30, 2025, as hot and humid conditions combined with a weak surface low pressure across southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi. Numerous severe thunderstorms developed through the afternoon. In Marrero, Jefferson Parish, thunderstorm winds knocked down a powerline, while additional wind damage in Hammond brought down multiple trees, including one onto a pow…
Flash Flood · Sep 11, 2024. Hurricane Francine formed as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico on September 9, 2024, and intensified into a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall near Houma, Louisiana, on the morning of September 11. With sustained winds of 100 mph and gusts peaking at 105 mph, Francine brought widespread damage to southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi. A storm surge of 6-9 feet inundated low-lying coastal ar…
Tropical Storm · Sep 11, 2024. Hurricane Francine formed as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico on September 9, 2024, and intensified into a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall near Houma, Louisiana, on the morning of September 11. With sustained winds of 100 mph and gusts peaking at 105 mph, Francine brought widespread damage to southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi. A storm surge of 6-9 feet inundated low-lying coastal ar…
Flash Flood · Dec 9, 2024. On December 9, 2024, a slow-moving cold front interacting with a deep moisture plume resulted in prolonged periods of heavy rainfall across southeastern Louisiana. Widespread rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches were reported, with localized amounts exceeding 10 inches, particularly in the river parishes portions of the Northshore. The excessive rainfall led to flash flooding, with numerous road closures.
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 Ascension 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.