16 flood insurance claims·$381,799 paid·13 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 Red River 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 severe weather events and heavy rainfall dominates the flood history of Red River Parish, supported by 29 flash flood events alongside standard floods, tropical storms, and hurricanes recorded over the last three0 years. Severe rainfall is frequently driven by stalled surface fronts, upper-level troughs, and moist southwesterly flow from the Gulf of Mexico. Recent events include a heavy rainfall and frontal boundary system in January 2024, a linear mesoscale convective system in June 2024, and moisture-fed thunderstorms in April 2024, as well as a vigorous upper-level trough and low-level jet system in January 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that properties located in high-risk zones face the most severe impacts. Zone A properties experienced 11 claims with an average payout of $37,819 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. By comparison, unshaded Zone X properties recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $1,202 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists working with properties situated in Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risk and mitigation measures given the substantially higher historical payouts and water depths in these areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
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 1990, with 7 claims and $60,496 paid.
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.
27 NOAA storm reports from Red River Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
31 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 13 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.
41 since 1996: 29 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 23, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 3, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 11, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 2, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 27, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 22, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Apr 19, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 23, 2024. A deep upper-level trough axis became entrenched across the western U.S. early on January 23rd, enhancing a deep southwesterly flow pattern across the Middle Red River Valley. Multiple disturbances aloft ejected northeast within the southwesterly flow and combined with a stalled surface frontal boundary to provide a nearly ideal environment for heavy rainfall across the Ark-La-Tex region. The axis of heaviest rain…
Flash Flood · Apr 9, 2024. A frontal boundary became stationary across the heart of the Ark-La-Tex region in vicinity of the Interstate 30 corridor on April 8th before slowly advancing southeast on April 9th. Concurrently, very moist southwest flow aloft resulting from a nearly cut-off low across the Desert Southwest provided for precipitable water values near 2 inches. Thunderstorms developed and gradually spread northward from Central…
Flash Flood · Jun 3, 2024. A linear mesoscale convective system (MCS) advanced southeast into the Ark-La-Tex from Oklahoma during the afternoon and evening hours on June 3rd. A pocket of strong instability was present ahead of the line, where MLCAPE values ranged from around 2500 to 3500 J/kg range and surface dew points were in the 70s. Instability along with strong large-scale ascent associated with a vorticity maxima and low-level conver…
Flash Flood · May 11, 2023. An upper level low pressure system slowly ejected northeast across the piney woods of East Texas during the evening through the morning hours of May 10th-11th. A southerly low level jet present ahead of the low spilled copious amounts of low level moisture north into East Texas and Western Louisiana, with strong large scale forcing ahead of the low enhancing numerous shower and thunderstorm development which moved…
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 Red River 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.