38,420 flood insurance claims·$1.8B paid·29 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. Tammany 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.
St. Tammany Parish is characterized primarily by flash flooding, driven by 123 recorded flash flood events over the last 30 years out of 158 total flood-related events. This heavy rainfall threat is exemplified by recent flash flood events in January 2024, which were triggered by moisture-rich air surging north from the Gulf of Mexico meeting a lifting warm front, creating an unstable environment with near-record precipitable water levels that sustained robust updrafts and heavy rainfall.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood impacts vary significantly by zone. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 26,060 claims averaging a $64,270 payout and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Properties in Zone V experienced the deepest average recorded water at 13 inches, with 1,094 claims averaging $55,737. Meanwhile, shaded Zone X properties averaged 9 inches of water with a $71,760 average payout across 1,481 claims, unshaded Zone X_UNSHADED properties averaged 5 inches of water with a $38,831 payout across 5,315 claims, and standard Zone X properties averaged 6 inches of water with a $49,152 payout across 3,989 claims.
Homeowners in Zone A and Zone V, as well as those in shaded Zone X areas experiencing high average claim payouts, should pay the closest attention to flood risks given their historical depth and financial loss metrics.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
20% of St. Tammany Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
33,950 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 18,281 claims and $1.4B 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.
89 NOAA storm reports from St. Tammany Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
49 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 29 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 |
| 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
158 since 1996: 123 flash floods, 23 river or area floods and 7 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | $40,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Nov 19, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 19, 2024 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2024 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Jun 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 11, 2024 | $3.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jan 24, 2024. For the second time in January, near record atmospheric levels of moisture, for January, was in place across southern Mississippi and southeast Louisiana. Low level convergence aided in the formation of a weak stalled frontal boundary, which became the focus for widespread showers and thunderstorms. Strong diffluence aloft from an approaching upper level jet enhanced storms that did develop. The combo of more than…
Flash Flood · Nov 19, 2024. A typical mid fall stronger cold front was moving through the region during the early morning hours of November 19th. As the boundary moved into southeast Louisiana, a surface low began to develop and depend right along the front. This resulted in more significant pressure falls which enhanced already deep showers and thunderstorms. As those storms moved over New Orleans Metro and the northshore of Lake Pontchartr…
Flash Flood · May 16, 2024. Continual progressive flow aloft coupled with unstable air ignited thunderstorms across southeastern Texas during the afternoon hours. These storms formed into a linear complex and traversed along a northward advancing warm front draped across the gulf coast. Aided by ample instability and favorable wind shear, this cluster organized into a damaging wind with embedded tornado risk across southeastern Louisiana. Mu…
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…
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. Tammany 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.