Natural hazards · Bernice

Bernice, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bernice comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bernice?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bernice to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding46%Strong wind14%Tornadoes14%Heat waves9%Ice storms7%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Bernice faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about 21 times a year in the area

Ice storms

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Bernice flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bernice.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Union Parish.

Disasters that hit Bernice

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BerniceDeclared for Union Parish only

2021

Severe Winter Storms

6 households applied for aid $21K aid approved

2020

Hurricane Laura

294 households applied for aid $129K aid approved

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

99 households applied for aid $496K aid approved $8K to the Town of Bernice for repairs

2009

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$6K to the Town of Bernice for repairs

2008

Hurricane Gustav

2 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

Union Parish has had 26 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

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. Bernice is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

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

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.