63 flood insurance claims·$1.8M 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 West Carroll 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 severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall dominates the flood history of West Carroll Parish, Louisiana. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 33 flash flood events, alongside smaller totals of general flood, tropical storm, hurricane, and tropical depression events. Recent occurrences include a slow-moving storm system that produced significant flooding in June 2021, and a warm front with anomalous moisture that dropped 2 to 6 inches of rain on saturated ground, causing widespread flash flooding in January 2020.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that claims have been filed across multiple zones, with varied impacts. Zone A accounts for 28 claims with an average payout of $20,146 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone X recorded 18 claims averaging $45,622 with an average water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED saw 12 claims averaging $41,583 with an average water depth of 10 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 4 claims averaging $3,357 with an average water depth of 4 inches, and Zone V registered 1 claim averaging $15,941 with an average water depth of 7 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone X and Zone X_UNSHADED should pay close attention, as these areas logged higher average payouts and greater average water depths per claim than Zone A.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
29% of West Carroll Parish’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
41 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 6 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 25 claims and $1.2M 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 West Carroll Parish describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Louisiana flood stories →
31 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 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.
40 since 1996: 33 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 15, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Jun 10, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2021 | $5,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 27, 2020 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 14, 2020 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 11, 2020 | $1,000 |
| Tropical Depression | Oct 9, 2020 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2018 | $2,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 15, 2025. Isolated thunderstorms developed across portions of Louisiana in the overnight hours of March 14th. Coverage of severe storms increased into the morning of the 15th before a squall line developed and moved across the area.
Flood · Jun 10, 2021. A slow moving storm system over the central United States produced a round of thunderstorms with flooding rains over northeast Louisiana. Significant flooding occurred in portions of the region.
Flash Flood · Jun 10, 2021. A slow moving storm system over the central United States produced a round of thunderstorms with flooding rains over northeast Louisiana. Significant flooding occurred in portions of the region.
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…
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 West Carroll 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.