6,579 flood insurance claims·$266.3M paid·27 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 Lafayette 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 Lafayette Parish, accounting for 50 of the past 70 recorded severe flood events over the last 30 years, alongside regular impacts from general floods, tropical storms, and hurricanes. Historical events are exemplified by conditions such as a stalled low pressure system that brought multiple rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms in May 2025, and a coastal low that produced minor flooding in Lafayette in December 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend significantly beyond high-risk areas. Properties in Zone A account for 3,545 claims with an average payout of $51,747 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X account for 2,117 claims with an average payout of $56,934 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Additional claims are documented in unshaded Zone X, shaded Zone X, and unknown zones with average payouts ranging from $6,142 to $14,132 and average water depths between 1 and 5 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within both high-risk Zone A and moderate-to-low risk Zone X, as both zones have accumulated thousands of substantial flood claims and identical average water depths of 7 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Lafayette Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
3,893 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 7 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 2,592 claims and $194.3M 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.
19 NOAA storm reports from Lafayette Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
43 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 27 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.
70 since 1996: 50 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 24, 2025 | $250,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 13, 2025 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 9, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 7, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 13, 2024 | $15,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 24, 2025. A cold front moved into the region and stalled late in April producing a few days of rain. Flooding occurred at multiple locations and severe storms also developed as a result.
Flash Flood · May 21, 2025. A cold front stalled along the coast of South Louisiana. This created a focus for thunderstorms on the 20th.
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 9, 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 Lafayette 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.