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Ouachita Parish, LA flood insurance claims history

6,984 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Ouachita Parish since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $162.9M on them. The worst year was 2016 with 1,765 claims. Ouachita Parish ranks #11 of 64 in Louisiana by claim count.

At a glance

  • 24% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 24% of all claims trace to a single event — Late winter severe storms (2016), which paid $88.6M here.
  • Flood claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
  • More flood claims than 84% of the 64 Louisiana parishes with any claims on file — and more than all 6 of its neighbors.
  • ZIP 71201 has the most claims in the county (2,650, 38%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
6,984
1978 – 2026
Total paid
$162.9M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
84%
5,858 received a payment
Average payout
$28K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
225
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-08-08
data as of 2026-09-07

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Pick your ZIP code to see how many insured buildings there filed flood claims, in which years, and how much was paid. Narrow by year or flood zone too. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you pick is sent anywhere.

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Flood claims by year

Peak: 1,765 claims in 2016
 
 
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'85
 
 
 
 
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'15
 
 
 
 
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'25
 

Claims by year of loss, 1978–2026. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.

Biggest flood events in Ouachita Parish

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Late winter severe storms1,698$88.6M$52K2016
Flooding (FEMA general label)1,140$18.3M$16K1991
Flooding (FEMA general label)949$9.1M$10K1989
Flooding (FEMA general label)356$4.7M$13K1978
Flooding (FEMA general label)337$3.4M$10K1982
Hurricane Gustav330$7.7M$23K2008
Flooding (FEMA general label)29$133K$5K1983
Flooding (FEMA general label)20$43K$2K1987
Flooding (FEMA general label)18$19K$1K1980
Hurricane Juan12$39K$3K1985
Hurricane Ike12$145K$12K2008
Mid-spring storms11$9K$8612011

70% of claims here fall under these 12 entries. “FEMA general label” groups many separate floods under one name; the rest of the claims have no event name.

Claims by flood zone

Not sure what the zone letters mean? Flood zones explained →

High-risk A zones: 4,854 (70%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 25 (0%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 1,545 (22%)Zone not recorded: 560 (8%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)4,854$120.9M$25K
Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30)25$190K$8K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)1,545$35.8M$23K
Zone not recorded560$6.0M$11K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt4,78969%
Stream, river or lake overflow97114%
Other causes6469%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)5127%
Not recorded340%
Alluvial fan overflow270%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Ouachita Parish

22 ZIP codes in Ouachita Parish have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Ouachita Parish.

712012,650$59.8M38%452026
712021,788$34.1M26%422025
712031,085$34.9M16%402026
712911,070$28.2M15%462026
71292197$3.4M3%242026
47$287K1%111997
7141827$446K0%82019
7121125$160K0%51991
7129418$246K0%82009
7121015$107K0%41991
7120715$70K0%61987
7128014$469K0%92025
712386$306K0%62019
712815$89K0%41999
712405$50K0%32016
712275$178K0%12016
703583$7K0%21991
700042$21K0%11985
706432$78K0%12005
700622$4K0%21997
712252$29K0%22010
700581$00%12005

Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.

When does Ouachita Parish flood?

March accounts for the most flood losses (1,853 claims, 27%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January1512%
February711%
March1,85327%
April1,65224%
May1,70724%
June921%
July661%
August961%
September73210%
October1222%
November691%
December3735%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
20266$260K
202528$1.5M
20246$130K
20234$48K
202213$141K
20215$0
202026$425K
201965$2.7M
201847$1.4M
201725$528K
20161,765$89.9M
20158$169K
201424$609K
20133$190K
201217$64K
2011580$13.4M
201011$56K
2009102$1.7M
2008376$8.3M
20072$2K
200615$21K
200514$295K
200423$114K
200332$162K
200210$40K
200148$455K
200016$34K
199981$564K
199823$70K
199724$170K
19967$16K
199531$143K
199418$52K
199317$177K
19924$8K
19911,326$19.9M
199038$90K
1989989$9.4M
198823$69K
198734$51K
19863$2K
198517$42K
198422$74K
1983160$682K
1982363$3.4M
19812$3K
198058$241K
1979100$244K
1978373$4.9M

Neighboring parishes and counties

Ouachita Parish borders 6 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Ouachita Parish (this page)6,984$162.9M24%
Caldwell Parish490$5.3M8%
Richland Parish473$11.1M52%
Union Parish380$9.0M19%
Morehouse Parish239$6.9M54%
Lincoln Parish56$594K24%
Jackson Parish20$101K44%

All 64 Louisiana parishes → · County and ZIP rankings →

Common questions about flooding in Ouachita Parish

Has Ouachita Parish flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-08-08, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (225 claims from 2017 to 2026). FEMA’s data runs to 2026-09-07, so the newest events may not appear yet.
Do I need flood insurance in a low-risk zone here?
Lenders generally require it only in high-risk A and V zones. But 24% of Ouachita Parish’s claims came from moderate- and low-risk zones. Whether to buy coverage is your call — see flood zones explained and check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
Can I see whether a specific house has flooded?
Not here. FEMA removes addresses before publishing, so these figures describe areas, never a property. Our guide how to check if a house has flooded lists the questions and records that can tell you about a specific home.
Why might the real number of floods be higher?
Only buildings with National Flood Insurance can file these claims, and most homes are not insured for flood. More on what the counts mean in understanding NFIP claims data.

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About these numbers

Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 22073, data as of 2026-09-07). They cover only properties that carried National Flood Insurance — most homes do not, and private flood policies are not included — so real flood damage is larger than these counts show. Dollar amounts are as paid, in nominal dollars. Flood zone is the zone used to rate the policy at the time, which may differ from today’s map. FEMA states this dataset is not an official federal report. Use it for background, not for a purchase, insurance or legal decision; for a specific property ask the seller for its flood disclosure or the owner’s NFIP loss history.

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