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Vernon Parish, LA flood insurance claims history
338 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Vernon Parish since 1979, and FEMA has paid out $9.4M on them. The worst year was 2016 with 68 claims. Vernon Parish ranks #43 of 64 in Louisiana by claim count.
At a glance
- 29% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
- 20% of all claims trace to a single event — Late winter severe storms (2016), which paid $3.5M here.
- Flood claims were filed in 8 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
- More flood claims than 33% of the 64 Louisiana parishes with any claims on file — and more than 1 of its 6 neighbors.
- ZIP 71446 has the most claims in the county (215, 64%). Check your ZIP →
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Flood claims by year
Claims by year of loss, 1979–2025. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.
Biggest flood events in Vernon Parish
| Flood event (FEMA name) | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Late winter severe storms | 68 | $3.5M | $52K | 2016 |
| Hurricane Harvey | 26 | $786K | $30K | 2017 |
| Hurricane Andrew | 19 | $153K | $8K | 1992 |
| Hurricane Juan | 7 | $122K | $17K | 1985 |
| Hurricane Lili | 5 | $50K | $10K | 2002 |
| Hurricane Rita | 5 | $59K | $12K | 2005 |
| Hurricane Gustav | 4 | $177K | $44K | 2008 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 4 | $31K | $8K | 1982 |
| Hurricane Laura | 4 | $48K | $12K | 2020 |
| Tropical Storm Isidore | 3 | $127K | $42K | 2002 |
| Hurricane Delta | 3 | $29K | $10K | 2020 |
| Hurricane Katrina | 3 | $146K | $49K | 2005 |
45% 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 →
| Flood zone at rating | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR) | 220 | $6.6M | $30K |
| Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30) | 10 | $64K | $6K |
| Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X) | 95 | $2.5M | $27K |
| Zone not recorded | 13 | $179K | $14K |
What caused the flooding
| Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA) | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt | 160 | 47% |
| Stream, river or lake overflow | 104 | 31% |
| Other causes | 42 | 12% |
| Tidal water overflow (storm surge) | 26 | 8% |
| Alluvial fan overflow | 3 | 1% |
| Not recorded | 2 | 1% |
Flood claims by ZIP code in Vernon Parish
12 ZIP codes in Vernon Parish have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Vernon Parish.
| 71446 | 215 | $5.3M | 64% | 29 | 2024 |
| 71403 | 87 | $2.9M | 26% | 11 | 2020 |
| 70639 | 9 | $819K | 3% | 4 | 2017 |
| 71461 | 7 | $91K | 2% | 6 | 2025 |
| 71459 | 3 | $21K | 1% | 3 | 2017 |
| 70634 | 3 | $206K | 1% | 3 | 2016 |
| 71496 | 3 | $30K | 1% | 2 | 1992 |
| 71475 | 3 | $24K | 1% | 3 | 2020 |
| 70656 | 2 | $4K | 1% | 2 | 2011 |
| 71424 | 2 | $657 | 1% | 2 | 1982 |
| 70659 | 2 | $9K | 1% | 1 | 2015 |
| 2 | $23K | 1% | 2 | 1992 |
Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.
When does Vernon Parish flood?
March accounts for the most flood losses (111 claims, 33%). Claims by month of loss:
| Month | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 12 | 4% |
| February | 7 | 2% |
| March | 111 | 33% |
| April | 31 | 9% |
| May | 14 | 4% |
| June | 7 | 2% |
| July | 1 | 0% |
| August | 54 | 16% |
| September | 23 | 7% |
| October | 64 | 19% |
| November | 5 | 1% |
| December | 9 | 3% |
Year-by-year detail
| Year of loss | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | $0 |
| 2024 | 6 | $346K |
| 2022 | 1 | $0 |
| 2021 | 1 | $0 |
| 2020 | 8 | $77K |
| 2018 | 4 | $63K |
| 2017 | 43 | $1.7M |
| 2016 | 68 | $3.5M |
| 2015 | 14 | $333K |
| 2014 | 4 | $18K |
| 2013 | 4 | $17K |
| 2012 | 42 | $973K |
| 2011 | 1 | $0 |
| 2009 | 2 | $52K |
| 2008 | 6 | $183K |
| 2006 | 22 | $500K |
| 2005 | 11 | $224K |
| 2004 | 12 | $119K |
| 2003 | 3 | $43K |
| 2002 | 12 | $197K |
| 2001 | 14 | $184K |
| 1999 | 6 | $251K |
| 1998 | 3 | $3K |
| 1996 | 1 | $7K |
| 1995 | 3 | $6K |
| 1994 | 7 | $95K |
| 1992 | 20 | $249K |
| 1991 | 1 | $7K |
| 1989 | 1 | $21K |
| 1985 | 9 | $140K |
| 1984 | 1 | $4K |
| 1983 | 2 | $20K |
| 1982 | 4 | $31K |
| 1979 | 1 | $657 |
Neighboring parishes and counties
Vernon Parish borders 6 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.
| Neighbor | Claims | Paid | Outside high-risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon Parish (this page) | 338 | $9.4M | 29% |
| Rapides Parish | 4,231 | $68.3M | 27% |
| Newton County, TX | 552 | $28.0M | 27% |
| Natchitoches Parish | 541 | $9.9M | 24% |
| Beauregard Parish | 516 | $8.8M | 26% |
| Allen Parish | 442 | $9.5M | 34% |
| Sabine Parish | 40 | $698K | 15% |
All 64 Louisiana parishes → · County and ZIP rankings →
Common questions about flooding in Vernon Parish
- Has Vernon Parish flooded recently?
- Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2025-05-15, and claims were filed in 8 of the last 10 years (132 claims from 2016 to 2025). 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 29% of Vernon 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 22115, 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.