250 flood insurance claims·$2.7M paid·14 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 Madison 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 summer thunderstorms and severe weather events dominates the flood history of Madison Parish, supported by 21 recorded flash flood events alongside impacts from tropical systems over the last 30 years.
Historical events illustrate these recurring threats. In April 2018, a stalled warm front and daytime heating brought copious amounts of rain and severe weather to the region. Later, in October 2020, Hurricane Delta tracked northeast across Louisiana, producing widespread wind damage, heavy rainfall, and flash flooding that washed out roads and flooded homes.
Property owners in Zone A should pay the most attention to flood risk, as this zone accounts for the vast majority of National Flood Insurance Program claims in the parish with 182 filings averaging $16,764 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Properties located in unshaded Zone X, which recorded 28 claims averaging $7,657 and an average water depth of 4 inches, should also maintain awareness of localized flood potential.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
15% of Madison Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
214 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 3 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 2013, with 27 claims and $744,576 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 Madison Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
33 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 14 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 |
| Tropical Storm Zeta | Oct 26, 2020 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 21 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Aug 27, 2020 | $60,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 9, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 9, 2019 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 6, 2018 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2017 | $60,000 |
| Flood | Mar 12, 2016 | $75,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 10, 2016 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Nov 18, 2015 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Aug 27, 2020. Hurricane Laura made landfall along the Louisiana coast near Lake Charles in the early morning hours of August 27. It moved north into Central Louisiana during the morning and afternoon before turning to the northeast and tracking through Arkansas. Impacts from Laura were felt far from the center of the storm, which was mainly in the form of tropical storm force winds across portions of northeast Louisiana and sou…
Tropical Storm · Oct 9, 2020. Hurricane Delta made landfall along the southwest Louisiana Gulf Coast around 5:00 p.m. CDT on October 9th and moved to the northeast across portions of central and northeast Louisiana. The hurricane produced widespread wind damage and flooding heavy rainfall as it moved inland and weakened. Scattered roads and highways in the region were flooded over or washed out by flash flooding, and 15 homes around Jonesville…
Flash Flood · May 9, 2019. A slow moving low pressure system moved northeast from the High Plains region toward the Great Lakes between May 8th and 9th. Two shortwave troughs moving east ahead of this low pressure system initiated squall lines that spread eastward across much of the Gulf Coast region. Thunderstorms embedded in these squall lines produced damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes. Additionally, repeated rounds of heavy rain le…
Flash Flood · Apr 6, 2018. A warm front was stretched across the region on April 6th. As a disturbance rode along this stalled front, it brought copious amounts of rain to the region thanks to ample moisture in place. As daytime heating occurred, some storms developed which brought severe weather to the region.
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 Madison 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.