6,086 flood insurance claims·$378.4M 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 Plaquemines 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.
Plaquemines Parish faces its primary flood risk from storm surge, tides, and tropical systems, which account for the majority of the county's recorded flood events over the last 30 years, including 27 storm surge events, 23 tropical storms, and 10 hurricanes.
The threat is underscored by events such as Hurricane Francine in September 2024, which brought a storm surge of 6 to 9 feet to low-lying coastal areas alongside torrential rainfall of 10 to 15 inches and significant flash flooding.
NFIP claim records demonstrate widespread historical impacts across multiple zones. Zone A properties experienced 3,765 claims with an average water depth of 19 inches and an average payout of $80,257. Shaded Zone X properties recorded 1,269 claims with an average water depth of 20 inches and an average payout of $91,646. Zone V properties saw 355 claims averaging 24 inches of recorded water depth and $73,166 per payout, while unshaded Zone X properties logged 313 claims with an average water depth of 11 inches. Consequently, coastal property owners, residents in Zones A and V, and those in shaded Zone X areas should pay the closest attention to flood risks and historical claim depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
24% of Plaquemines Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
5,405 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 20 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 3,732 claims and $253.1M paid, the year of Tropical Storm Cindy, 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.
44 NOAA storm reports from Plaquemines Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
45 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 |
| 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.
71 since 1996: 7 flash floods, 1 river or area floods and 29 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Storm Surge/Tide | Jun 16, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2024 | $20,000 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Sep 11, 2024 | — |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Aug 29, 2021 | $50.0M |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Aug 28, 2021 | $500.0M |
| Coastal Flood | May 19, 2021 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Jun 19, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Storm Surge/Tide · Jun 16, 2024. As a surface ridge nearby shifted off to the northeast during the 3rd weekend of June, light and variable winds became onshore and more steady state. By June 16th, the surface ridge shifted offshore into the Atlantic Ocean and a surface low pressure was developing as it crossed the Yucatan Peninsula. It was at this point that east to southeast winds increased to 15-20 knots across local coastal waters and didn't l…
Tropical Storm · Sep 11, 2024. Hurricane Francine formed as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico on September 9, 2024, and intensified into a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall near Houma, Louisiana, on the morning of September 11. With sustained winds of 100 mph and gusts peaking at 105 mph, Francine brought widespread damage to southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi. A storm surge of 6-9 feet inundated low-lying coastal ar…
Storm Surge/Tide · Sep 11, 2024. Hurricane Francine formed as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico on September 9, 2024, and intensified into a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall near Houma, Louisiana, on the morning of September 11. With sustained winds of 100 mph and gusts peaking at 105 mph, Francine brought widespread damage to southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi. A storm surge of 6-9 feet inundated low-lying coastal ar…
Hurricane (Typhoon) · Aug 29, 2021. The ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, Ida originated from a tropical wave in the Caribbean Sea on August 23rd. On August 26th, the wave developed into a tropical depression, which organized further and became Tropical Storm Ida later that day, near Grand Cayman. On a northwestward track, Ida intensified into a hurricane on August 27, just before…
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 Plaquemines 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.