4,799 flood insurance claims·$170.7M paid·26 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 Vermilion 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Vermilion Parish, accounting for 26 of the 35 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside events from floods, storm surges, tropical storms, and coastal flooding. Recent events include heavy rain and thunderstorms caused by a stalled low pressure system and cold front in May 2025, and Tropical Storm Francine in September 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show significant impacts across multiple zones. Properties in Zone A account for the vast majority with 3,601 claims averaging a $42,125 payout and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Zone X properties recorded 333 claims with an average payout of $59,352 and an average water depth of 7 inches, while Zone V properties recorded 211 claims with an average payout of $40,274 and an average water depth of 11 inches.
Homeowners in Zone A, Zone V, and Zone X should pay the closest attention to this flood risk, given the high volume of historical claims and recorded water depths associated with these areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7% of Vermilion Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
4,116 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 7 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 1,564 claims and $64.1M 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.
10 NOAA storm reports from Vermilion Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
46 federal disaster declarations since 1971, 26 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 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 26, 2020 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
35 since 1996: 26 flash floods, 5 river or area floods and 3 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 29, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 7, 2025 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Jun 19, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Nov 9, 2024 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Jul 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 3, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 17, 2021 | $30,000 · 1 killed |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 29, 2025. A series of upper disturbances and a slow moving cold front created multiple days of stormy weather across portions of Louisiana. Severe weather and flooding occurred.
Flash Flood · May 7, 2025. A warm front slowly lifted north across the region during the 6th causing rain and thunderstorms. A low pressure system and associated cold front slowly pushed back across the area on the 7th and stalled into the 9th with a couple rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms.
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.
Tropical Storm · 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…
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 Vermilion 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.