23,919 flood insurance claims·$2.2B paid·28 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 St. Bernard 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.
Tropical storms, storm surges, and hurricanes dominate the flood character of St. Bernard Parish, with tropical storms and storm surge/tide events leading the frequency mix over the past 30 years alongside 21 hurricanes resulting in 140 deaths. Recent events underscore these risks, such as Hurricane Francine in September 2024, which brought a 6-9 foot storm surge to low-lying coastal areas and 10-15 inches of torrential rainfall causing significant flash flooding. Slow-moving storms also produce heavy rainfall, as demonstrated by the widespread flash flooding that occurred from storms associated with a stalling cold front in April 2025.
NFIP insurance claims data reflects widespread vulnerability across various zones. Zone A has accumulated the highest claim volume with 12,428 claims averaging a $93,919 payout and an average recorded water depth of 19 inches. Shaded and unshaded Zone X properties have also experienced substantial impacts, recording 6,072 claims (average payout $126,278, average water depth 17 inches), 3,562 claims (average payout $127,041, average water depth 18 inches), and 1,162 claims in Zone X unshaded (average payout $39,481, average water depth 14 inches). Zone V recorded 597 claims with an average payout of $26,838 and an average water depth of 14 inches. Coastal property owners and residents in high-risk zones should pay the closest attention to these persistent hurricane, storm surge, and flash flood threats.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
36% of St. Bernard Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
20,259 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 18 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 16,719 claims and $2.2B 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.
73 NOAA storm reports from St. Bernard Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
48 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 28 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.
117 since 1996: 20 flash floods, 3 river or area floods and 37 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Jun 16, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2024 | $3,000 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Sep 11, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 3, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 · Jun 28, 2024. A frontal boundary had stalled across south Louisiana. Scattered thunderstorms developed along this front but a weak steering pattern resulted in slow moving storms. One of these storms produced heavy rain over St Bernard parish which resulted in flash flooding.
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…
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 St. Bernard 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.