161 flood insurance claims·$2.5M paid·12 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 Tensas 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 heavy rainfall events dominates the flood history of Tensas Parish, accounting for 25 out of 33 recorded flood events over the last thirty years, alongside impacts from tropical storms and hurricanes.
Severe weather and heavy rainfall have triggered significant local flooding across the parish, as seen during storms in June 2015, April 2017, and April 2020. Hurricane Laura also brought tropical storm-force winds to northeast Louisiana in August 2020.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property owners in high-risk Zone A face the most frequent and severe flood impacts, accounting for 117 claims with an average recorded water depth of 18 inches and an average payout of $19,616. Homeowners and real estate professionals in Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risk, though properties in unshaded Zone X have also recorded claims, averaging 3 inches of water depth and $21,299 per payout.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
20% of Tensas Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
147 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 15 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 2011, with 25 claims and $1.1M paid, the year of 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.
15 NOAA storm reports from Tensas Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
29 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 12 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.
33 since 1996: 25 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Aug 27, 2020 | $35,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 23, 2020 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2017 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2015 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 10, 2013 | $20,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 29, 2012 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 18, 2012 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 29, 2011 | $20,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Aug 27, 2020. Hurricane Laura made landfall along the Louisiana coast near Lake Charles in the early morning hours of August 27. It moved north into Central Louisiana during the morning and afternoon before turning to the northeast and tracking through Arkansas. Impacts from Laura were felt far from the center of the storm, which was mainly in the form of tropical storm force winds across portions of northeast Louisiana and sou…
Flash Flood · Apr 23, 2020. An upper level storm system moved across the region overnight on April 22nd into 23rd. Abundant moisture and wind energy was in place to bring severe thunderstorms to the region. Damaging winds occurred along with some tornadoes. Flash flooding also occurred with efficient rainfall rates and heavy rainfall. As the cold front moved through the region later during the afternoon of the 23rd, a few more storms develop…
Flash Flood · Apr 2, 2017. A powerful spring storm system impacted much of the region on April 2nd. As this system evolved, a severe weather outbreak occurred with many tornadoes impacting portions of Louisiana and Mississippi. In addition, multiple other thunderstorms produced damaging wind gusts, large hail, and significant flash flooding during the afternoon and overnight hours.
Flash Flood · Jun 29, 2015. Daytime heating, instability and good gulf moisture combined together to form a few strong storms across northeast Louisiana into western Mississippi.
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 Tensas 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.