313 flood insurance claims·$6.2M paid·19 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 Jefferson Davis 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 driven by heavy rainfall events dominates the local flood profile, accounting for 29 out of 34 recorded flood events over the last 30 years in Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana. This pattern is regularly produced by slow-moving cold fronts, upper-level disturbances, and warm fronts, as seen during heavy storms in March and May 2025.
Federal insurance data shows that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas. Properties located in Zone A account for the highest volume of claims at 198, with an average payout of $32,331 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Meanwhile, properties designated as Zone X recorded 61 claims with an average payout of $29,189 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Additional claims occurred in Zone UNKNOWN (33 claims, average payout $7,595, average water depth 2 inches), Zone X_SHADED (13 claims, average payout $9,125, average water depth 4 inches), and Zone X_UNSHADED (8 claims, average payout $9,040, average water depth 1 inch).
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties in Zone A and Zone X, where claim frequencies and average payout amounts are highest during severe rain events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Jefferson Davis Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
219 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 2016, with 97 claims and $3.1M 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Jefferson Davis Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
42 federal disaster declarations since 1971, 19 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.
34 since 1996: 29 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 29, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 7, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 3, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 1, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 6, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2019 | $20,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 29, 2025. A series of upper disturbances and a slow moving cold front created multiple days of stormy weather across portions of Louisiana. Severe weather and flooding occurred.
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 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.
Flash Flood · Aug 3, 2024. An upper level disturbance moved across the region allowing showers and thunderstorms to develop. Isolated severe storms and flooding occurred.
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 Jefferson Davis 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.