4,296 flood insurance claims·$176.4M 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 Tangipahoa 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.
Tangipahoa Parish experiences a flood risk profile dominated by flash flooding and inland impacts from tropical systems. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 26 flash flood events resulting in 3 deaths, alongside 7 general flood events, 4 tropical storms, 2 storm surge or tide events, and 2 hurricanes causing 2 deaths.
Recent events illustrate these hazards. In January 2024, near-record atmospheric moisture combined with a stalled frontal boundary and upper-level support, producing widespread showers and thunderstorms that dropped 5 to 10 inches of rain and caused flash flooding. Later that year, Hurricane Francine made landfall in September 2024 as a Category 2 hurricane, bringing torrential rainfall of 10 to 15 inches and significant flash flooding to southeastern Louisiana.
Federal insurance claims data shows impacts across multiple zones. Zone A recorded 2,513 claims with an average payout of $48,328 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Zone X properties also face significant risk, logging 1,335 claims with an average payout of $62,442 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Zone V recorded 158 claims with an average payout of $39,081 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Homeowners in Zone A, Zone X, and coastal or low-lying areas in Zone V should pay the closest attention to flood preparedness given these historical claim and depth averages.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Tangipahoa Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
2,748 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 2016, with 1,696 claims and $98.0M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
17 NOAA storm reports from Tangipahoa 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 |
| 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.
41 since 1996: 26 flash floods, 7 river or area floods and 2 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Jun 16, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Sep 11, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 25, 2023 | — |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Aug 29, 2021 | $100.0M · 2 killed |
— = 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…
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…
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 Tangipahoa 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.