127,255 flood insurance claims·$7.2B 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 Orleans 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 dominates the flood hazard profile in Orleans Parish, supported by 194 recorded flash flood events alongside lesser totals for general floods, storm surges, tropical storms, and hurricanes over the past 30 years. Recent impacts include a flash flood event on May 7, 2025, driven by a stalled front and convective storms that enhanced downdrafts over the New Orleans metro. Another flash flood event occurred on April 21, 2025, when a stalling cold front produced slow-moving storms and efficient, long-duration rainfall that quickly overwhelmed the urban landscape.
Property owners and real estate agents should note that historical NFIP claims vary significantly by flood zone. Zone A accounts for the highest volume with 91,756 claims, an average payout of $77,637, and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 10,483 claims with an average payout of $52,502 and an average water depth of 9 inches, while Zone X shaded areas averaged 5 inches of water across 16,695 claims. Zone X unshaded areas averaged 3 inches of water across 4,633 claims. Properties with unknown zones averaged 37 inches of water across 1,985 claims. Residents in Zone A and unmapped or unknown zones should pay the closest attention due to higher claim frequencies and severe average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
19% of Orleans Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
114,787 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 10 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 2005, with 71,538 claims and $6.7B paid, the year of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.
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.
160 NOAA storm reports from Orleans Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
39 federal disaster declarations since 1998, 19 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 |
| Seawater Intrusion | Sep 20, 2023 |
| Tropical Storm Nicholas | Sep 12, 2021 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 26, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Ida | Aug 26, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
219 since 1996: 194 flash floods, 13 river or area floods and 6 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 31, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 21, 2025 | $4,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 13, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 31, 2025. A strong springtime cold front moved through the region in the morning hours of March 31st. A mesoscale convective system developed along the front due to incredibly steep lapse rates. The resultant impact included widespread wind damage, a weak tornado and a few areas of flash flooding.
Flash Flood · May 28, 2025. A mid level disturbance embedded within southwest flow aloft created an environment of increased buoyancy. Ample instability was already in place across the region due to typical early summer heat and increased low level moisture. A mix of severe and heavy rain impacts occurred as storms developed across the region.
Flash Flood · Apr 21, 2025. On the afternoon of April 21st, a cold front approaching the region began to stall over central Louisiana as upper-level support and steering flow shifted northeastward. With the front losing its dynamical push, storms developed ahead of it across the New Orleans area and became slow-moving due to the lack of steering flow. These storms produced efficient, long-duration rainfall over the city, and the urban landsc…
Flash Flood · Feb 19, 2025. A frontal boundary was stalled along the northern Gulf on February 18th. As cold front moving south through Texas and northern Louisiana, a surface low began developing where the 2 boundaries met in the northwestern Gulf. The low steadily deepened while tracking east along the Louisiana coastline which enhanced height falls over southeast LA. The increased buoyancy from the height falls perfectly lined up with con…
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 Orleans 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.