338 flood insurance claims·$9.4M paid·16 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 Vernon 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 driven by severe storms dominates the local flood history, backed by 27 flash flood events and 8 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years alongside tropical storms and hurricanes. Recent occurrences include heavy rainfall and thunderstorms from a slow-moving frontal system in April 2024, and multiple rounds of heavy rain, severe weather, and flooding in late December 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas. Properties in Zone A account for the highest claim volume with 220 claims averaging a 12-inch recorded water depth and a $34,516 average payout. Meanwhile, Zone X properties have recorded 91 claims with an average water depth of 14 inches and a $35,743 average payout.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within both Zone A and Zone X, as both zones experience significant claim frequencies and substantial average water depths during flood events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Vernon Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
234 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 12 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 68 claims and $3.5M 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.
13 NOAA storm reports from Vernon Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
39 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 16 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Tropical Storm Francine | Sep 10, 2024 |
| Highway 113 Fire | Aug 30, 2023 |
| Lions Camp Road Fire | Aug 26, 2023 |
| Ida Fire | Aug 25, 2023 |
| Tropical Storm Nicholas | Sep 12, 2021 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 26, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Ida | Aug 26, 2021 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
41 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 28, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 24, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 10, 2024 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 28, 2021 | $25,000 |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Aug 26, 2020 | $900.0M · 1 killed |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 6, 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.
Flash Flood · Apr 29, 2024. A line of thunderstorms swept through Southeast Texas and across Central and South Louisiana. Numerous reports of severe weather and flooding resulted.
Flash Flood · Dec 28, 2024. A series of short waves moved across the region during late December causing multiple rounds of severe weather and flooding. One long lived tornado formed southeast of Houston and moved across deep southeast Texas before crossing into Louisiana.
Flash Flood · Jul 24, 2024. Deep moisture streamed across the area ahead of an upper trough. Heavy rain occured in the afternoon during max diurnal heating.
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 Vernon 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.