Natural hazards · Arabi

Arabi, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Arabi comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2,964 claims here since 1978. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Arabi?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Arabi to be higher than in 95% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes74%Inland flooding13%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Arabi faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Hurricanes

74% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

13% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Arabi flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Arabi, from FEMA’s records.

2,964paid claims since 1978

$248Mpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Katrina: 1,843 claims, $238M
Hurricane Rita: 32 claims, $2.8M
Tropical Storm Isidore: 26 claims, $98K

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Arabi isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: St. Bernard Parish.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

19homes raised above flood level

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Arabi

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Arabi itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Arabi.

Brought FEMA money into ArabiDeclared for St. Bernard Parish only

2021

Hurricane Ida

1,751 households applied for aid $1.9M aid approved

2020

Hurricane Zeta

83 households applied for aid $88K aid approved

2012

Hurricane Isaac

831 households applied for aid $256K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Gustav

509 households applied for aid $56K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Rita

4 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

5,476 households applied for aid $42.2M aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

8 households applied for aid

St. Bernard Parish has had 35 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Arabi

Arabi and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Arabimostly hurricanesVery high

New Orleansmostly hurricanesVery high

Chalmettemostly hurricanesVery high

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Arabi covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Arabi’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Arabi. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Arabi total about $2.5M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.