2,532 flood insurance claims·$36.7M paid·30 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. Mary 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 dominates the flood history of St. Mary Parish, supplemented by regular threats from tropical systems and storm surges. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 22 flash flood events, 6 general flood events, 2 hurricanes, and 1 storm surge event. Recent examples include Tropical Storm Alberto in June 2024, which brought coastal storm surge from a large wind field, and severe storms in January 2024 driven by low pressure moving from the Texas Hill Country. Hurricane Francine also impacted the region in September 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records highlight distinct risk tiers across different zones. Properties in Zone V experienced 339 claims with an average payout of $29,803 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Zone A recorded the highest claim volume with 1,199 claims, averaging $19,852 and an average water depth of 4 inches. Zone X properties logged 339 claims with an average payout of $24,383 and an average water depth of 6 inches, while Zone X shaded recorded 279 claims averaging $9,974 with an average water depth of 2 inches. Unknown zones accounted for 294 claims averaging $5,738 with an average water depth of 7 inches.
Coastal property owners and residents in Zone V and Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risks given the higher average payouts and recorded water depths associated with these zones during storm surges and heavy rainfall.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
19% of St. Mary Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,898 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 6 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 2008, with 331 claims and $6.9M paid, the year of Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike.
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.
11 NOAA storm reports from St. Mary Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
49 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 30 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.
31 since 1996: 22 flash floods, 6 river or area floods and 1 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Storm Surge/Tide | Jun 19, 2024 | — |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Sep 11, 2024 | $10.0M |
| Flash Flood | Jan 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 7, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2016 | $2.5M |
| Flood | Aug 14, 2016 | $25.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Storm Surge/Tide · Jun 19, 2024. Tropical Storm Alberto moved across the western gulf and into Northeast Mexico. The large wind field of the disorganized system pushed water levels into minor flood along the coast of Southeast Texas and South Louisiana.
Hurricane (Typhoon) · Sep 11, 2024. Francine originated from a tropical wave that emerged off the West coast of Africa on August 28th. The wave traversed the tropical Atlantic Ocean with minimal organization, reaching the Leeward Islands by September 1st. The tropical wave reached the Yucat��n Peninsula by September 6th, emerged into the Bay of Campeche by September 7th, with a broad surface low pressure noted by September 8th. By daybreak on S…
Flash Flood · Jan 8, 2024. An area of low pressure developed over the Texas Hill Country and moved toward east Texas and western Louisiana. Severe weather occurred along a warm front and then a few more strong to severe storms developed with the cold front.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2019. A mesoscale convective vortex interacted with a weak cold front over the the southeast states and northeast Gulf of Mexico. The surface low that developed moved southwest across the gulf then northwest into the south central Louisiana coast. The first tropical watches were issued July 10th from the National Hurricane Center and the center of minimal hurricane made landfall near Intracoastal City during the afterno…
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. Mary 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.