Natural hazards · Brownsville

Brownsville, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Brownsville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Brownsville?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Brownsville to be higher than in 18% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding46%Tornadoes17%Earthquakes10%Heat waves8%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Brownsville 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

Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 21 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Brownsville flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Ouachita Parish.

Disasters that hit Brownsville

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BrownsvilleDeclared for Ouachita Parish only

2008

Hurricane Gustav

1 household applied for aid

Ouachita Parish has had 32 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Brownsville

Brownsville and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Bawcomvillemostly inland floodingLow

West Monroemostly inland floodingLow

Brownsvillemostly inland floodingVery low

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. Brownsville 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 Brownsville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Brownsville. 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.