10,386 flood insurance claims·$321.8M paid·22 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 Calcasieu 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 heavy rainfall events dominates the flood history of Calcasieu Parish. According to NOAA Storm Events Database records from the last 30 years, flash floods account for 107 events and 1 death, alongside 19 general flood events and 1 storm surge event. Recent examples include May 2025 and August 2025, when stalled fronts, low-pressure systems, and associated thunderstorms produced rounds of heavy rain and localized flooding, such as in Sulphur.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrates widespread risk across multiple zones. Zone A leads with 5,382 claims averaging $37,282 with an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone X properties have also experienced significant impacts, logging 3,522 claims with an average payout of $52,839 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Additional claims are distributed across unknown zones, unshaded Zone X, and Zone D.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk Zone A and moderate-to-low risk Zone X, both of which have recorded thousands of claims and average water depths of 6 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Calcasieu Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
6,000 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 5 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 1,731 claims and $55.3M 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.
21 NOAA storm reports from Calcasieu Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
42 federal disaster declarations since 1971, 22 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 Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 17, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
127 since 1996: 107 flash floods, 19 river or area floods and 1 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 13, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 7, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 6, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 2, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 30, 2025. A weak frontal boundary stalled along Interstate 10 during late August. The boundary helped spark numerous showers and storms with one producing flooding in Sulphur.
Flash Flood · May 28, 2025. A cold front moved into the region and stalled for multiple days while weak upper level disturbances triggered a few thunderstorms.
Flash Flood · Jun 13, 2025. An inverted trough moved slowly along the coast of Louisiana increasing moisture which caused heavy rain and thunderstorms over multiple days.
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.
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 Calcasieu 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.